oc 


1923 


INTIMATE  GLIMPSES 
OF  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 


BY 

HENRY  BERKOWITZ,  D.  D. 

Author  of 
"The  New  Education  in  Religion" 
"Judaism  and  the  Social  Question" 
"Sabbath  Sentiment  in  the  Home" 

etc.,  etc. 


^w  of  nwcfy 

OCT  27  1923 
%0GICAL  %l 


CINCINNATI 

The  Hebrew  Union  College  Press 

1921 


Copyright  1921 

by 

The  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations 


In  loving  devotion  to  my 

Comrade  from  youth; 

My  helpmate  through  life; 

My  unfailing  source  of  inspiration; 

My  Wtfe. 


A  WORD  OF  INTRODUCTION 

By  Dr.  K.  Kohler, 

President  Hebrew  Union  College, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

I  herewith  gladly  comply  with  the  request  of  my  dear 
friend  and  colleague,  Dr.  Henry  Berkowitz,  to  offer  a 
few  introductory  remarks  to  the  series  of  lectures  on  the 
functions  of  the  rabbi  which  he,  at  my  invitation,  de- 
livered before  the  students  of  the  Hebrew  Union  College 
in  April,  1918,  under  the  title:  "Intimate  Glimpses  of 
the  Rabbi's  Career."  These  lectures  are,  at  my  sug- 
gestion, herewith  presented  to  the  public  in  permanent 
form.  By  the  perusal  of  these  pages  the  general  reader 
will  obtain  an  insight  into  the  tasks  and  difficulties 
confronting  the  Rabbi.  A  sympathetic  and  helpful 
spirit  of  inspiration  between  Pulpit  and  Pew  will  thus 
be  promoted. 

These  lectures  certainly  fill  a  serious  gap  in  our 
Jewish  theological  literature.  They  will  be  welcomed  by 
students  and  young  rabbis  alike  as  a  valuable  guide  and 
a  forceful  incentive  to  the  work  of  pulpit  and  religious 
school  as  well  as  to  the  general  activities  of  the  Jewish 
minister.  They  are  the  ripe  fruitage  of  a  rich  life  exper- 
ience, and  the  outflow  of  the  personality  of  one  who, 
during  his  successful  career  as  a  leader  of  congregations, 
especially    of    the    prominent    congregation    Rodeph 


6  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Shalom  in  Philadelphia,  has  always  stood  in  the  closest 
friendly  relations  with  every  member  of  his  flock;  is 
the  trusted  and  beloved  counselor  and  comforter  of  the 
homes  and  the  advisor  of  young  and  old ;  one  who  has 
become  an  eminent  spiritual  force  in  American  Jewry, 
owing  to  his  sincerity  of  purpose  and  his  large-hearted 
sympathy. 

When,  about  thirty-five  years  ago,  as  one  of  the 
appointed  examiners  at  the  first  graduation  of  the 
Hebrew  Union  College,  I  heard  young  Henry  Berkowitz 
deliver  his  trial  sermon  as  one  of  the  four  graduates  who 
have  made  their  mark  by  creating  a  new  type  of  rabbi 
in  accordance  with  the  needs  of  American  Jewry,  he  at 
once  impressed  me  as  the  born  minister  of  God  with  a 
deep  religious  soul.  He  has  since  proved  to  be  a  man  of 
peculiar  force  and  originality  in  the  pulpit,  one  whose 
words  render  his  hearers  enthusiastic  not  by  mere 
rhetoric  nor  by  the  wisdom  and  learning  gathered  from 
books  alone,  but  by  an  eloquence  which  comes  from  the 
heart  and  goes  to  the  heart.  And  back  of  the  spoken 
word  there  ever  stands  the  man,  whole-souled,  with 
keen  interest  in  whatsoever  is  human,  and  indefatigable 
in  his  manifold  endeavors  to  promote  the  cause  of 
Judaism  as  a  rabbi,  as  an  educator  of  a  high  order,  and 
as  a  communal  worker. 

Thus  highly  qualified  to  speak  authoritatively  on  the 
fourfold  topic  he  has  so  wisely  chosen,  he  prepared  these 
lectures  with  a  thoroughness  and  rare  insight  that  pene- 
trated into  the  very  core  of  things.  They  are  worthy 
of  the  best  academician.  They  aroused  the  highest 
interest  and  enthusiasm  in  the  students  and  earned  the 


A  WORD  OF  INTRODUCTION 

warmest   thanks   of   the   Faculty  and   the   Board   of 
Governors  of  the  College. 

But  there  was  a  special  feature  to  lend  charm  to  these 
lectures,  and  this  was  the  discussion  which  followed 
each  lecture.  The  students  were  requested  by  the 
speaker  to  submit  questions  on  any  phase  of  the  topics 
considered.  Thus  were  elicited  many  inquiries.  These 
were  met  with  striking  and  instructive  answers,  rich 
with  illustrations  drawn  from  the  speaker's  own  large 
experience. 

May,  then,  the  lectures  as  presented  herewith  prove 
a  source  of  inspiration  and  instruction  to  all  who  read 
them,  as  they  were  to  us  who  heard  them.  May  they 
find  warm  appreciation  in  wide  circles,  so  as  to  induce 
many  other  speakers  to  follow  the  example  of  Dr. 
Berkowitz  and  Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  who  preceded  him 
with  a  course  of  magnificent  lectures  which,  too,  we 
hope  to  see  in  print  soon.  We  are  grateful  for  these 
noble  efforts  and  rejoice  that  by  their  publication  the 
curriculum  of  the  Hebrew  Union  College  is  to  be 
enriched. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 
11 

24 


37 

48 


I 
The  Rabbi  as  Minister    .    . 
Questions  and  Answers  .    .    . 

II 
The  Rabbi  as  Teacher     .    . 
Questions  and  Answers  .    .    . 

Ill 
The  Rabbi  as  Preacher  .    . 
Questions  and  Answers  .    .    , 

IV 

Ethical  Problems  of  the  Rabbi     113 
Questions  and  Answers  ....      130 


81 
97 


The  Pioneer  American  Rabbi, 

Dr.  Isaac  M.  Wise 151 

Index 173 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER 

A  SUGGESTION  from  the  President  of  the  Hebrew 
Union  College,  especially  when  indorsed  official- 
ly by  the  Faculty  and  the  Board  of  Governors, 
is,  to  me,  equivalent  to  a  command.  In  obedience 
thereto  I  am  here  to  address  you.  The  command  is 
dignified  and  lifted  to  the  rank  of  a  notable  distinction 
in  that  it  accords  to  me  the  honor  of  sharing  for  a  time 
the  privileges  of  a  member  of  the  Faculty. 

I  am  asked  to  bring  you  a  message  somewhat  differ- 
ent, however,  from  that  which  belongs  to  the  purely 
academic  atmosphere  of  the  class-room.  For  there  are 
some  subjects  of  vital  importance  to  you  which  are  not 
to  be  found  in  any  text-book,  and  certain  disciplines 
that  cannot  well  be  fitted  into  the  curriculum.  You 
have  courses  in  "Homiletics"  and  "Rabbinic  Activities," 
imparted  under  experienced  and  capable  instruction. 
To  the  scholarly  presentation  of  these  topics  given  by 
your  professors  I  am  asked  to  bring  the  supplementary 
offering  and  reinforcement  drawn  from  the  experience 
of  my  thirty-five  years  of  practical  ministry.  Perhaps 
it  may  be  my  good  fortune  to  direct  you  to  where  you 
may  be  able  to  find  some  of  those  fountains  of  inspira- 
tion for  whose  living  waters  you  will  daily  yearn  when, 
after  graduation,  you  take  up  singly  and  alone  your 


12  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

wanderings  in  the  wilderness  of  an  untried,  untrodden, 
and  unknown  career. 

"Intimate  Glimpses  of  the  Rabbi's  Career"  may  re- 
veal to  you  by-paths  and  thickets  to  be  avoided  and 
may  possibly  help  you  to  clear  a  pathway  of  progress  in 
your  own  individual  journeyings.  The  field  is  so  vast, 
and  so  great  the  enticements  to  ramble,  that  I  have  con- 
strained myself  expressly  by  these  written  pages  in 
order  to  divide  the  time  with  you.  I  shall  then  be 
ready  and  eager  to  lead  you  on  any  excursion  in  the 
quest  for  what  you  yourselves  find  of  most  direct  inter- 
est. I  would  have  you  survey  your  future  career  as 
rabbi  in  these  four  successive  discourses  from  four  dis- 
tinct angles : 

(a)— The  Rabbi  as  Minister. 

(&)—  The  Rabbi  as  Teacher. 

(c) — The  Rabbi  as  Preacher. 

(d) — Ethical  Problems  of  the  Rabbi. 
The  first,  most  startling  and  somewhat  bewildering 
experience  of  one  who  enters  the  rabbinical  career  is 
that  of  finding  himself  suddenly  invested  with  a  place 
of  responsible  leadership.  In  the  college  halls  he  was 
accustomed  to  follow  definite  and  rigorously  defined 
regulations,  to  submit  to  authority,  and  to  find  at  hand 
sources  of  information  and  guidance  for  his  every  per- 
plexity and  difficulty.  On  the  day  that  he  receives  his 
diploma  the  situation  changes  completely,  for  then  he 
holds  in  his  hand  a  signed  and  sealed  testimony  of 
equipment  for  office.  "Hattarat  Hora'ah" — "permis- 
sion to  teach  and  to  decide" — takes  on  a  living  signifi- 
cance when,  from  the  very  moment  of  his  entering  upon 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  13 

his  office,  he  finds  himself  confronted  with  responsi- 
bilities he  must  himself  assume.  Thus,  e.  g.,  he  is 
charged  by  the  law  with  a  grave  responsibility  in  solem- 
nizing marriages.  Bound  by  the  Jewish  law  and  tradi- 
tion in  this  and  other  functions,  he  must  forthwith  post 
himself  on  the  civil  law  as  well. 

The  congregation  vests  in  him  the  direction  of  its 
religious  affairs.  He  must  decide,  sometimes  on  the 
instant,  matters  of  ritual  and  ceremonial  observance  no 
less  than  of  principle.  There  is  no  congregation  in 
which  there  do  not  arise  open  questions  that  are  sub- 
mitted to  the  rabbi's  arbitrament.  He  must  take  a 
stand  based  on  definite  convictions.  A  man  fresh  from 
college,  devoid  of  all  practical  experience  and  accus- 
tomed to  take  only  the  academic  attitude  on  such  mat- 
ters, is  likely  to  be  bewildered  and  to  err.  Individuals 
look  to  the  rabbi  for  guidance,  and  take  his  example  as 
authoritative.  The  community  at  large  defers  to  his 
rank  and  influence  and  looks  up  to  him  as  the  authorita- 
tive spokesman  of  the  Jews.  The  public  press,  whether 
he  wills  it  or  not,  exacts  from  the  rabbi  some  Jewish 
pronouncement  on  every  current  issue. 

Thus  the  rabbi  finds  himself  at  once  the  target  of 
countless  inquiries.  The  Sheeltot  directed  to  rabbis 
under  other  conditions  referred  almost  exclusively  to 
Issur  vhettar,  things  forbidden  or  permitted,  and  limited 
to  technicalities  of  religious  observance.  Those  which 
assail  a  rabbi  today  in  America  are  not  thus  limited,  but 
have  to  do  with  the  great  issues  of  life  in  all  its  various 
phases.  He  is  apt  to  be  consulted  daily  on  questions 
that  refer  to  the  training  of  the  young,  the  problems  of 


14  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

the  adolescent,  the  determination  of  a  career,  intimate 
matters  of  domestic  relations,  questions  on  the  dis- 
tinctively Jewish  topics  of  the  day,  and  all  the  educa- 
tional, civic,  and  philanthropic  problems  that  confront 
the  community  at  large.  There  is  no  Kol  Bo  or  Vade 
Mecum  with  authoritative  replies  to  fit  every  need. 
Experience  is  the  sole  text-book  and  even  it  is  not 
always  conclusive.  Books  are  but  the  records  of  the 
experiences  and  observations  of  others.  Therefore, 
a  rabbi  must  be  primarily  a  student  of  books.  However, 
written  records  are  but  pale  reflections  of  actual  life. 
Therefore  he  must  be  a  student  of  life  itself  and  avail 
himself  of  the  lessons  which  others  have  learned,  often 
through  bitter  trial  and  trouble.  Fortunate  is  he  who 
is  able  to  serve  under  some  older  and  experienced  rabbi 
during  the  first  years  of  his  ministry. 

It  is  only  in  the  spirit  of  offering  helpful  suggestions 
that  I  venture  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  leadership 
which  the  diploma  insures  is  mere  paper  and  that  which 
the  public  awards  is  mere  convention.  In  actual  ex- 
perience the  rabbi's  leadership  is  determined  in  the 
first  place  by  his  attitude  towards  his  own  profession, 
then  by  his  attitude  towards  his  people,  and  finally  by 
the  attitude  of  his  people  towards  him. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  it  is  imperative  that  every 
man  who  assumes  the  title  and  functions  of  a  rabbi  have 
a  clearly  defined  ideal,  a  definite  standard  to  which  he 
would  attain  as  a  minister  among  the  people  by  whom 
he  is  called.  The  noble  sage,  Antigonus  of  Socho, 
transmitting  to  all  future  generations  the  impress  of  the 
pure  and  radiant  soul  of  his  master,  the  last  of  the  high 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  15 

priests,  Simon  the  Just;  gave  us  the  supreme  standard 
for  the  ministry  in  his  admonition:     Daisys  1MJ1  b# 

onaya  i*n  xh*  did  bzpb  mv-by  mn-n«  onpoffon 

8-ne  w  dis  *np^  nm-bv  &bw  3in-n8  d^d^dh 

:  D2"»^y  D^Dttf  "Be  not  like  servants  who  serve  the 
master  for  the  sake  of  reward,  but  be  like  servants  who 
serve  the  master  not  for  the  sake  of  reward,  and  let  the 
fear  of  Heaven  be  upon  you!" — Aboth  1:3. 

The  test  lies  herein :  does  a  man  take  up  the  ministry 
to  offer  service  or  to  demand  service;  to  help  others  or 
to  exploit  them;  to  glorify  himself  or  to  glorify  God? 

No  man  deliberately  accepts  the  lower  motive,  and  there 
is  none  who  would  not  resent  with  scorn  such  a  charge. 
But  there  is  one  unfailing  witness  to  the  standard  a 
minister  has  really  set  up  for  his  calling,  consciously  or 
unconsciously.  This  witness  is  his  daily  attitude 
towards  his  people.  The  attitude  of  the  minister 
towards  his  people  is  revealed  by  the  way  the  people 
react,  as  shown  by  their  attitude  towards  their  minister. 

Even  a  minister  who  holds  his  office  as  a  real  conse- 
cration to  service,  whose  standards  are  the  highest, 
whose  relations  with  the  people  are  frank,  fair  and 
friendly,  is  not  yet  a  leader.  To  be  a  leader  he  must 
secure  and  hold  a  real  constituency  of  followers.  Your 
heart  aflame  with  enthusiasm  and  soul  kindled  by  high 
idealism,  you  will  be  chilled  by  the  indifference  of  multi- 
tudes to  whom  religion  is  held  as  of  minor  or  of  negli- 
gible importance.  You  will  need  a  robust  spirit  to  con- 
front your  tasks.  The  difficulties  of  this  task  are  not 
to  be  ignored. 

It  may  be  helpful  to  make  clear  the  types  of  people 
with  whom  you  will  have  to  deal.     There  is  first  the 


16  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

mass  who  hold  themselves  aloof  from  all  affiliation 
with  the  synagogue.  They  are  like  your  philosophical 
anarchist,  who,  though  not  in  active  revolt,  is  yet 
opposed  to  any  organized  form  of  government.  They 
are  extreme  individualists.  As  far  as  my  experience  goes, 
their  attitude  is  rarely  the  result  of  a  reasoned  conviction 
but,  for  the  most  part,  is  a  subterfuge  to  hide  some 
financial,  social  or  other  motive  for  standing  apart. 

There  is  a  large  class  who  may  be  called  paradoxically 
the  "religious  materialists."  Such  a  one  will  admit 
readily  that  religion  is  a  good  thing,  with  the  mental 
reservation,  "for  others,"  i.  e.,  for  rabbis,  children, 
women,  and  old  folks.  He  sees  the  utility  of  the  school 
and  other  adjuncts  of  the  synagogue.  He  pays  his 
dues  punctiliously,  will  even  consent  to  hold  office,  and 
will  take  pride  in  running  the  business  side  of  the  con- 
gregation to  insure  the  rabbi's  salary  and  meet  the  other 
obligations.  But  he  has  no  conception  of  the  real  pur- 
pose of  the  congregation  as  the  agency  that  gives  charac- 
ter and  dignity  to  the  community,  that  upholds  its 
moral  tone,  and  yields  to  the  individual  the  inspirations 
of  the  spiritual  life.  Therefore  he  has  no  sense  of  per- 
sonal duty  in  the  matter  of  synagogue  attendance  and  of 
public,  much  less  private,  worship. 

There  is  a  third  class  who  might  be  denominated 
"culturists."  They  hold  a  nominal  allegiance  to  the 
congregation,  but  their  real  worship  is  given  to  some 
form  of  cultured-aesthetic,  artistic,  dramatic,  literary, 
and  "ethical"  culture.  In  fact,  the  one  vital  bond  that 
binds  them  to  Judaism  is  Jewish  charity.  You  hear 
from  the  lips  of  these  the  familiar  platitude,  "My  reli- 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  17 

gion  is  to  do  good."  This  kind  of  religion  has  been  well 
defined  as  that  of  "fruits  without  roots."  It  is  true,  as 
Matthew  Arnold  declares  in  his  essays  on  "Culture  and 
Religion,"  that  conduct  is  three-fourths  of  religion. 
But  the  other  one-fourth  consists  of  the  roots  which 
nourish  conduct.  Hew  the  tree  from  its  roots  and  it 
must  perish.  The  roots  of  conduct  are  found  in  mo- 
tives, in  hopes,  fears,  ambitions,  and  ideals.  The 
various  cultures  may  contribute  to  the  refinement  of 
conduct,  but  religion  alone  infuses  into  action  right 
principles,  heroic  convictions,  undying  loyalties,  the 
martyr's  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  those  inspirations  and 
sanctions  that  are  divine. 

To  meet  this  class  successfully  demands  not  alone  the 
best  intellectual  equipment  but  above  all  else  the  force 
of  character  which  compels  respect  and  which,  in  itself, 
best  illustrates  the  power  of  Judaism  as  dominant  in 
conduct. 

Finally  there  is,  happily,  a  fourth  type:  the  really 
spiritually-minded  Jew,  the  religious  layman  and  lay- 
woman.  These  are  the  real  supporters  of  the  congrega- 
tion, a  nucleus  of  people  in  each  community  with  a 
genuine  sentiment  of  devotion  to  the  synagogue  and 
all  for  which  it  stands.  This  fourth  class  constitutes 
the  element  which  responds  eagerly  and  speedily  to  your 
leadership.  Let  your  service  be  primarily  for  them 
and  to  the  degree  in  which  you  win  their  ardent  follow- 
ing you  win  also  the  forces  through  which  you  may 
unitedly  be  able  to  bring  the  other  classes  back  to  their 
normal  places  in  the  House  of  Israel. 

After  the  first  gush  of  enthusiasm  which  welcomes  a 
young  minister  has  worn  away  and  the  novelty  of  seeing 


18  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

a  new  personality  and  hearing  a  new  voice  in  the  pulpit 
has  dimmed,  you  will  begin  to  discover  the  persons 
upon  whose  support  you  can  really  depend  in  your  min- 
istry. Among  these  you  will  find  a  very  dangerous  set. 
I  mean  your  warmest  admirers.  Woe  to  the  man  who 
succumbs  to  the  flattery  of  his  satellites  and  consents  to 
be  enthroned  by  them  on  the  tripod  of  the  oracle. 
More  ministers  have  been  ruined  by  conceit  than  by  any 
other  fault.  A  saving  sense  of  humor  and  a  daily  self- 
confession  of  one's  limitations  are  wholesome  disci- 
plines against  the  rhapsodies  of  young  ladies,  the  adora- 
tion of  little  children,  and  the  adulation  and  caresses  of 
dear  old  dames.  I  recall  a  dear  old  soul  whose  glowing 
admiration  was  wont  to  voice  itself,  after  each  discourse 
she  heard,  in  the  genuine  Malapropian  outburst: 
"Doctor,  you  done  grand.     Short  but  brief!" 

A  more  serious  difficulty  for  the  minister,  be  he  young 
or  old,  is  that  which  confronts  him  in  the  form  of  criti- 
cism. Criticism  is  the  high  right  and  privilege  we  all 
presume  to  exercise  against  one  another.  It  is  the 
privilege  the  pews  unsparingly  employ  against  the  pul- 
pit. Hypercriticism  the  minister  can  afford  to  ignore, 
but  woe  to  the  man  in  the  pulpit  who  resents  honest 
criticism.  He  robs  himself  of  the  most  potent  agency 
by  which  he  may  develop  and  grow,  intellectually, 
morally,  and  spiritually. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  have  one's  every  utterance  and 
every  action  weighed,  measured,  and  judged,  but  there 
is  no  more  wholesome  experience.  For  nearly  a  dozen 
years  I  was  kept  alert  by  the  presence  and  criticisms 
of  my  eminent  predecessor  in  office.     I  owe  to  him  the 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  19 

most  rigid  and  stimulating  discipline  of  my  ministry. 
Lawyers  know  that  they  may  be  tripped  at  every  word. 
In  the  competitions  of  their  daily  pursuits  men  are 
constantly  subject  to  attack.  The  minister  alone  is 
accustomed  to  be  heard  in  silence  and  is  startled  when 
he  faces  demurrer  and  contradiction.  This  condition 
is  one  of  the  weaknesses  of  our  system.  It  would  be  well 
if  minister  and  people  could  come  together  at  times  in 
friendly  conference  on  those  vital  matters  which  concern 
them,  those  debatable  questions  which  really  weigh 
upon  the  people's  minds  and  hearts,  but  about  which 
the  rabbi  hears  only  occasionally,  indirectly,  and  often 
harshly.  His  exhortations  and  ministrations  would 
then  not  be  mere  random  shots  or  academic  guesses, 
but  would  deal  with  the  realities  of  life  and  would 
afford  him  genuine  opportunity  for  leadership. 

There  is  a  direct  method  by  which  the  rabbi  may 
dedicate  his  ministry  to  service  for  his  people,  that  is,  the 
simple  one  of  living  with  them  and  being  of  them.  Let  him 
apply  to  himself  the  dictum  of  Hillel:  TD*n  JD  tensn  b» 
"Do  not  separate  thyself  from  the  congregation."— 
Aboth  2:5.  The  dread  of  losing  dignity  and  authority, 
the  inclination  to  be  a  recluse  and  live  exclusively  in 
the  world  of  books,  is  fatal  to  the  ideal  of  genuine  service 
in  the  ministry.  Let  a  man  be  a  man  among  men, 
sharing  in  their  interests  and  activities,  in  their  natural 
pleasures  and  pastimes  as  well  as  their  serious  concerns, 
revealing  his  human  side  while  always  showing  himself 
a  gentleman,  and  people  will  not  disguise  their  real 
natures  before  the  minister.  Carry  your  pulpit  about 
with  you,  move  in  the  "odor  of  sanctity,"  and  you  be- 
come repellent.     If  you  want  to  be  genuinely  helpful 


20  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

to  people  you  must  be  able  to  break  down  the  artificial 
barriers  of  formalism  which  the  priestly  garb  and  the 
sanctimonious  air  create.  This  is  what  I  understand 
R.  Ishmael  to  have  meant  by  his  familiar  admonition  in 

Aboth  3:16:    tepo  mm  mrwrt  mil  wvnb  bp  mn 

:  nnot^n  DlSn-^-nS  "Be  pleasant  of  disposition, 
yielding  to  your  superiors,  affable  to  the  young,  and 
greet  all  men  with  cheerfulness." 

Leadership  demands  the  ability  to  handle  all  people, 
young  and  old  alike.  This  requires  tact.  I  do  not 
mean  diplomacy.  Diplomacy  has  reference  to  secret 
motives,  distrust,  and  tli3  effort  to  take  advantage  while 
pretending  to  be  frank  and  honest.  Tact  is  the  very 
opposite.  In  its  primary  significance  it  refers  to  touch 
and  feeling.  It  is  the  ready  power  to  discern  just  what 
is  fit  and  proper  under  the  circumstances.  It  is  the  gift 
of  considerateness,  looking  away  from  self  to  others. 
Leadership  calls  for  moral  courage  which  is  quite  differ- 
ent from  the  bravado  that  glories  in  giving  offense. 
Rabbis  are,  happily,  human.  They  have  their  tempers 
and  their  temptations  like  other  people.  But  to  be 
capable  of  leading  they  must  be  able,  better  than  others, 
to  exercise  that  self-control  which  is  the  real  test  of 
moral  courage.  They  must  seek  to  conform  to  the 
standard  set  by  Ben  Zoma  when  he  asked  TDJ  1PIPK 
:  r\V  J"IK  tttt'Dn  "Who  is  a  hero?"  and  made  reply, 
"He  who  exercises  self-control."  Sincerity  is  the  su- 
preme requisite  exacted  of  every  leader.  Let  any  cloud 
dim  the  transparent  integrity  of  your  motives,  and  you 
cannot  hold  your  following.  Criticism  that  is  hostile  is 
sure  to  find  its  foil  in  your  honesty.  The  highest 
standards  of  sincerity  are  daily  applied  by  the  people 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  21 

to  their  minister.     It  is  not  what  he  says  that  counts 
with  them  so  much  as  what  he  is.     To  quote  Emerson: 
"I  cannot  hear  what  you  say.     What  you  are  speaks 
too  loudly."     The  man  who  fears  that  test  or  cannot 
endure  its  exactions  has  no  right  to  be  in  the  ministry. 
Standing  like  a  general  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  the 
minister  must  be  able  to  direct  his  people.     Like  the 
general,  the  minister  must  himself  be  on  the  alert,  the 
first  to  hear  and  heed  every  call  of  duty.     Like  the 
physician,  ever  ready,  the  minister  must  respond  night 
and  day  to  the  call  of  every  spiritual  need.     In  answer 
to  such  calls  he  comes  to  those  who  are  under  the  cloud 
of  some  great  anxiety;  to  those  bewildered  by  some  in- 
tricate perplexity  of  soul;  to  those,  perhaps,  under  the 
burden  of  a  great  shame  or  disgrace;  to  those  exulting 
in  some  great  joy;  to  those  crushed  by  sickness  and 
bowed  by  sorrow;  to  those  face  to  face  with  the  supreme 
mystery  of  death.     They  want  their  minister  in  these 
great  crises  of  life  and  they  cry  out  for  him.     What  do 
they  want?    Not  merely  something  learned  out  of  a 
book,  not  argument  or  persuasion,  however  earnest  or 
vehement.     No,  they  want  the  heart,  its  deepest  and 
tenderest  sentiments,  its  sympathies,  to  give  them  forti- 
tude and  to  put  new  warmth  and  devotion  into  their 
souls.     They  want  the  sense  of  the  personal  presence  of 
the  man  whose  help  they  have  a  right  to  expect  in  their 
strivings  to  approach  the  source  of  divine  strength. 

The  trust  placed  in  a  minister,  the  confidence  felt  in 
his  disinterestedness,  and  the  genuineness  of  his  friend- 
ship—these are  the  foundations  of  that  personal  rela- 
tionship between  him  and  his  people  which  alone  gives 


22  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

value  and  force  to  his  ministrations.  Though  by  many 
the  personal  element  is  treated  with  levity  and  shal- 
lowness, I  beg  to  emphasize  its  importance  in  the  func- 
tions of  a  rabbi  as  teacher,  as  preacher,  but  most  of  all 
as  minister  in  the  highest  and  most  sacred  offices  of 
religion  which  call  him  into  the  homes  of  the  people  and 
bring  him  into  intimate  touch  with  the  individual. 
There  are  crises  that  come  into  every  life.  Such  are 
the  moments  when  the  barriers  of  conventionality 
break  down,  when  the  artificialities  of  social  life  are 
shattered,  and  when  all  pretense  is  brushed  aside  like 
a  gossamer  film.  In  moments  of  great  spiritual  awak- 
ening, and  especially  when  people  are  bowed  by  sorrow 
or  crushed  by  the  burden  of  some  woe  more  heavy  than 
death,  the  soul  is  bared  in  its  inmost  depths  to  the 
minister  alone.  Then  comes  the  real  opportunity  of  the 
rabbi  to  be  a  minister.  With  understanding  and  sym- 
pathy, with  reverence  and  genuine  responsiveness,  he 
can  give  strength,  comfort,  inspiration,  and  support  to 
those  who  lean  upon  his  counsel,  his  calmness,  and  his 
unfaltering  faith  in  the  divine  wisdom  and  beneficence. 
The  ultimate  test  of  the  true  minister  is  found  in  the 
possession  of  that  subtle  quality  we  call  soulfulness — 
an  indefinable  spiritual  force  which  is  potent  to  touch 
the  deeper,  inner  nature  of  men  and  women  and  to  stir 
into  active  responsiveness  their  finest  and  noblest  emo- 
tions and  impulses. 

"Be  noble!  and  the  nobleness  that  lies 
In  other  men,  sleeping  but  never  dead 
Will  rise  in  majesty  to  meet  thine  own." 

— James  Russell  Loivell.    Sonnet  IV. 


Questions  and  Answers 

Q.  From  the  titles  of  your  lectures  am  I  right  in 
assuming  that  you  relegate  the  function  of  the  rabbi  as 
a  student  of  some  form  of  Jewish  literature  to  the  back- 
ground? 

A.  Not  at  all.  In  the  first  lecture  on  "The  Rabbi 
as  Minister,"  and  in  the  lecture  on  "Ethical  Prob- 
lems of  the  Rabbi,"  my  motive  is  to  emphasize  certain 
phases  of  the  career  which  awaits  you,  to  which,  under 
present  changed  conditions,  I  am  convinced,  adequate 
consideration  has  not  been  given.  The  rabbi  of  the 
past  was  free  to  devote  himself  primarily  to  scholarly 
pursuits.  The  urgency  of  present  needs  often  forces  us 
out  of  the  quiet  of  the  study,  and  frequently  robs  us  of 
the  privilege  of  engaging  in  independent  researches,  and 
compels  us  to  live  intellectually  on  the  products  of  those 
who  are  privileged  as  professors  and  authors  to  engage 
in  special  studies. 

The  lectures  on  "The  Rabbi  as  Teacher"  and  "The 
Rabbi  as  Preacher"  will,  I  trust,  reveal  to  you  none  the 
less  that  the  rabbi  must  be  above  all  else  a  student, 
and  devote  himself  faithfully  to  the  traditions  of  Jewish 
scholarship,  though  his  special  function  at  present  be 
mainly  the  vital  task  of  transmuting  the  golden  ore  of 
his  studies  into  the  knowledge  that  shall  pass  current 
among  the  people. 

Q.  What  are  the  legal  points  on  which  a  rabbi  must 
post  himself  in  order  to  solemnize  marriages? 


24  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

A.  These  are  different  in  different  states  of  the 
Union.  In  some  states  it  is  necessary  that  the  minister 
place  his  diploma  on  file  with  the  proper  court  officer, 
or  show  it  to  him,  or  offer  other  guarantees  of  his  author- 
ity to  act  as  a  Jewish  minister.  Official  proof  of  elec- 
tion by  a  congregation  or  of  membership  in  a  minis- 
terial conference  may  be  required. 

In  Pennsylvania  it  is  necessary  for  the  parties  who 
are  to  be  married  to  produce  a  license  from  the  Clerk 
of  the  Orphans'  Court.  This  authorizes  the  minister  to 
officiate,  and  requires  that  he  return  the  form  duly 
signed  within  a  given  date.  He  is  subject  to  fine  or 
imprisonment  as  a  penalty  of  neglect. 

In  New  York,  after  a  minister  is  registered,  he  is 
authorized  to  issue  the  license.  The  Board  of  Health 
in  some  municipalities  requires  in  addition  a  return  of 
all  marriages  for  statistical  purposes.  Blank  forms  for 
the  record  are  provided. 

The  laws  of  the  States  differ  widely  also  in  reference 
to  prohibited  and  permitted  consanguinity  and  affinity 
between  contracting  parties.  The  marriage  of  first 
cousins  is  forbidden  in  some  states  and  permitted  in 
others. 

You  are  aware  that  ignorance  of  the  divorce  laws  has 
also  caused  much  moral  confusion  among  those  who 
failed  to  realize  that  in  this  country  a  "Get"  has  no 
civic  validity  whatever.  The  confusion  and  contradic- 
tion in  the  marriage  and  divorce  laws  of  the  states  have 
led  to  a  laxity  in  obedience  and  a  lightness  in  evasion 
which  have  created  one  of  the  most  serious  dangers 
threatening  American  family  life. 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  25 

Besides  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  the  civil  law,  the 
rabbi  must  be  controlled  by  the  Jewish  law  governing 
the  sanctioning  of  the  marriage  bond.  Dr.  Mielziner's 
valuable  book  on  "The  Jewish  Law  of  Marriage  and 
Divorce"  is  essential  for  your  guidance.  The  decisions 
of  our  Rabbinical  Conferences  ought  to  be  familiar  to 
you.  In  doubtful  situations  seek  the  counsel  of  exper- 
ienced colleagues  before  you  consent  to  officiate. 

The  civic  and  ecclesiastical  law  having  been  complied 
with,  the  most  serious  and  responsible  duty  of  the  rabbi 
still  remains  to  be  fulfilled,  and  that  is,  to  determine 
whether  the  requirements  of  the  moral  law  are  fully 
satisfied  by  the  conditions  of  the  marriage.  Here  enter 
questions  of  conscience  which  you  as  an  individual  must 
decide  for  yourself.  For  example,  would  you  marry  a 
runaway  couple?  Would  you  marry  a  couple  who  have 
not  the  consent  of  their  parents  or  guardians?  Would 
you  marry  a  couple  in  case  one  or  both  persons  are  not 
of  the  Jewish  faith?  Would  you  conduct  a  marriage 
service  on  days  and  at  times  that  contravene  Jewish 
tradition  and  custom?  To  these  and  kindred  questions 
I  would  answer  unequivocally,  "No!"  If  you  ask  why, 
I  reply,  "Because,  as  a  minister,  I  must  be  the  ultimate 
and  trusted  guardian  of  religion  and  the  home." 
Where  the  parties  openly  flout  all  religion  and  desire  to 
use  a  minister  merely  to  satisfy  a  convention,  the  minis- 
ter has  a  right  to  resent  their  attitude  and  decline.  The 
"mixed  marriage"  becomes  a  farce  and  the  minister 
lends  himself  to  a  sham  when  he  invokes  the  sanctions 
of  the  Jewish  religion  upon  the  union  of  those  to  whom 
these  sanctions  mean  nothing. 


26  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

The  object  of  marriage  as  a  spiritual  bond  is  the  crea- 
tion of  a  new  home  which  shall  be  a  shrine  dedicated  to 
the  culture  of  all  the  virtues.  What  a  mockery,  then, 
for  you,  as  a  minister  to  lend  yourself  to  solemnizing  a 
marriage  which  involves  the  breaking  of  home-ties,  the 
shattering  of  parental  claims,  and  the  rending  of  family 
bonds.  Bend  your  efforts  rather  to  the  upholding  of 
these  bonds  by  allaying  ill-feeling,  conciliating  the 
parents  and  members  of  the  two  families  involved,  and 
using  means  by  which  to  make  the  future  mutually 
helpful  to  all  concerned.  Try  to  serve  thus  before,  not 
after  the  marriage.  Begin  with  an  earnest,  sympathetic 
talk  with  the  couple.  Drive  home  the  vital  consequences 
of  their  act.  Make  them  understand  your  standpoint 
and  you  will  rarely  fail  to  win  their  co-operation. 

Q.  In  ritual  questions  what  sources  of  authority  do 
you  use  in  reaching  a  decision? 

A.  An  intrinsic  authority  rests  in  the  force  of  tradi- 
tions that  have  flowed  on  in  a  continuous  channel 
through  the  centuries.  To  that  authority  each  genera- 
tion in  Israel  has  rendered  homage.  Yet  each  genera- 
tion that  has  faced  new  conditions  of  life  has  been 
obliged  to  modify,  alter,  or  re-create  the  forms  in  which 
it  could  express  its  own  religious  life  best.  What 
Dr.  Schechter  called  "Catholic  Israel,"  i.  e.,  the  consensus 
of  the  sentiment,  intelligence,  and  conscience  of  the 
people  of  Israel,  was  the  ultimate  authority  for  such 
changes  as  were  recognized  and  heeded. 

At  periods  when  we  had  legislative  and  judicial 
organizations  like  the  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue, 
the  Sanhedrin,  and  the  Courts,  to  them  authority  was 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  27 

accorded  for  everything,  from  the  fixing  of  the  calendar 
to  the  order  of  prayers.  When  these  authorities  passed 
into  oblivion,  it  was  to  the  academies  and  their  learned 
rabbis  that  the  people  submitted  mooted  questions  for 
decision.  The  literature  of  "Responses"  shows  how, 
throughout  generations,  the  questions  called  forth  by 
changed  conditions  were  submitted  to  individuals  of 
acknowledged  character,  learning,  and  judgment,  and 
these  decisions  acquired  authoritative  force. 

The  transitions  of  our  own  time  from  the  restrictions 
of  medieval  Europe  to  this  era  of  emancipation  have 
been  so  swift  and  overwhelming  that  it  has  been 
difficult  to  hold  intact  the  force  of  older  traditions. 
Yet,  the  whole  history  of  the  adaptation  of  Jewish 
religious  practice  to  modern  needs  is  the  history  of  the 
effort  to  be  true  to  the  force  of  the  old  traditions  while 
being  fair  to  the  honor  and  integrity  of  a  people  reborn, 
as  it  were,  in  freedom. 

In  other  words,  that  summary  of  our  code,  known  as 
the  Shulchan  Aruch,  still  holds  our  reverential  regard 
as  the  recognized  authority.  In  all  cases  where  reason, 
common  sense,  and,  above  all,  sincerity  demand  it,  we, 
too,  venture  to  modify,  alter,  or  entirely  recreate  its 
prescribed  ordinances.  In  our  turn  we  rest  our  cause 
on  the  judgment,  the  intelligence,  and  the  conscience 
of  the  ablest,  the  wisest,  and  most  trusted  of  our 
leaders.  The  people  look  to  their  rabbis  for  authority. 
The  consensus  of  the  rabbis,  as  set  forth  in  the  resolu- 
tions of  our  Conferences — though  these  cannot  be 
enforced — constitute  the  source  of  authority  in  such 
matters.    New  issues,  or  those  which  the  Conferences 


28  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

have  not  considered,  are  by  good  Jewish  precedent 
referred  to  the  judgment  of  our  ablest  and  most  exper- 
ienced rabbis. 

0*  Do  people  really  think  of  seeing  the  rabbi  in 
important  crises  in  their  lives?  How  can  the  rabbi 
indicate  his  willingness  to  be  of  service  to  people  who 
are  not  used  to  doing  this. 

A.  You  are  familiar  with  those  words  in  the  opening 
paragraph  of  that  section  of  our  Prayer  Book  called  the 
Amidah,  or  Eighteen  Benedictions,  in  which  God 
himself  is  characterized  as  D^in  WST\1  D^filJ  "1D1D 
D^DK  -pfiDl  the  One  "Who  lifteth  up  the  fallen,  healeth 
the  sick,  and  redeemeth  those  who  are  imprisoned." 
Some  rabbinical  wag  has  declared  that  God  has  now 
relegated  these  duties  to  the  modern  minister.  A  large 
share  of  his  time  is  demanded  by  the  importunities  of 
those  who  are  stranded,  the  schnorrers  and  misfits  as 
well  as  the  victims  of  genuine  misfortune.  "He  lifteth 
up  the  fallen"  is  to  be  taken  literally,  since  he  is  a  friend 
to  the  friendless,  a  helper  and  medium  of  counsel,  and 
an  aid  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  women,  and 
children  in  all  sorts  of  difficulties.  The  agencies  for 
relief  of  all  kinds  may,  should,  and  do  act  in  these 
matters,  but  the  minister  must  see  that  the  real  senti- 
ment of  Zedakah  shall  not  fail. 

"He  visiteth  the  sick."  Yes,  the  people  really  think 
of  seeing  their  minister  when  sickness  enters  the  home. 
In  fact,  they  are  sometimes  thoughtless  and  incon- 
siderate enough  to  charge  him  with  neglect  when  he 
may  be  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  fact  of  the  illness,  or 
when  his  call  has  been  deferred  by  the  public  duties  he 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  29 

cannot  postpone.  Not  resentment  but  patient  indul- 
gence must  rule  us  at  such  times,  and  the  pettiness  of 
people  soon  vanishes  before  the  sympathy,  the  cheeriness, 
the  helpfulness  your  visit  may  bring  to  those  who  are 
depressed.   The  call  to  the  dying  must  be  heeded  ever. 

"To  redeem  those  who  are  imprisoned"  is  a  distinct- 
ively new  and  modern  function  of  the  rabbi.  Previous 
generations  rarely  knew  of  Jewish  law-breakers,  but 
alas,  in  recent  times  these  violators  of  law  and  defamers 
of  religion  have  increased.  They  appeal  to  the  rabbi 
desperately,  shamelessly  and  often  impertinently,  to 
get  them  out  of  jail.  Their  claim  is  inevitably  that 
they  are  falsely  victimized,  and  the  rabbi  must  see  that 
no  injustice  is  done. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  rabbi  to  indicate  to  the 
people  that  he  is  willing  to  be  of  service  in  real  emer- 
gencies and  difficulties.  Your  conduct  will  soon 
enough  advertise  your  qualities.  If  your  conception 
of  the  ministry  is  that  of  a  life  of  service,  of  ministering 
to  the  needs  and  welfare  of  others,  opportunities  will 
not  fail. 

A  young  woman  in  a  certain  western  city  was  reciting 
to  me  the  qualifications  of  the  various  rabbis  who  had 
occupied  the  pulpit  in  succession.  "Dr.  X.  was  a 
wonderful  organizer  and  made  us  all  do  things.  Dr.  Y. 
was  a  brilliant  man  and  made  us  think  and  stirred  our 
minds.  Dr.  Z.  was  a  great  orator  and  fascinated  us  by 
his  eloquence.  But  we  have  had  only  one  real  minister 
and  that  was  Dr.  A.  He  was  a  man  to  whom  I  could 
give  my  full  confidence  and  be  assured  always  of 
understanding  and  real  help." 


30  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

0-  Should  a  minister  accept  pay  for  a  pastoral  call? 
Are  there  rabbis  who  do? 

A.  The  question  is  somewhat  vague.  What  are 
pastoral  calls?  Do  you  refer  to  them  in  the  sense  that 
prevails  in  other  churches,  viz.,  that  the  minister  comes 
to  a  household  to  exhort  and  hold  services?  We  do  not, 
in  that  sense,  have  pastoral  calls  made  by  the  minister. 
Calls  of  a  purely  social  character  are  certainly  not 
referred  to  by  this  inquiry.  The  calls  made  have  refer- 
ence to  the  fulfillment  of  those  religious  and  friendly 
offices  for  which  people  seek  the  aid  of  the  rabbi.  Thus, 
when  a  death  occurs,  the  rabbi  is  informed  and  it  is  his 
duty,  in  my  judgment,  at  the  earliest  opportunity  to  see 
the  family,  to  counsel  with  them  and  help  them  by  his 
friendly  sympathy  and  guidance.  He  should  let  them 
feel  that  he  is  standing  by  their  side  to  help  them 
maintain  their  poise  in  the  midst  of  calamity,  and  in 
every  possible  way  in  his  power  to  give  them  fortitude. 
After  the  funeral  and  the  "Minyan"  for  Memorial 
services,  it  is  the  custom,  and  I  think  an  excellent  one, 
for  the  minister  to  call  upon  the  family.  At  such  a  time 
many  readjustments  in  family  life  and  in  the  life  of 
individuals  are  bound  to  occur,  and  often  they  desire  to 
refer  such  matters  to  the  disinterested  judgment  of  a 
friend  like  their  minister.  This  is  the  sort  of  pastoral 
call  I  advise. 

When  some  joyous  event  like  a  betrothal  occurs  it  is 
customary,  and  I  believe  it  is  an  admirable  custom,  to 
let  the  minister  know  about  it.  He  is,  or  should  be, 
interested  in  the  history  of  every  family  to  which  he 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  31 

ministers,  and  this  interest  added  to  common  courtesy 
would  prompt  him  to  visit  the  family  and  share  in  its 
rejoicing.  There  are  other  occasions  that  will  readily 
suggest  themselves  to  your  mind,  especially  during  these 
trying  times  of  war  when  you  will  be  doing  a  kindly 
act  and  probably  a  helpful  one  if  you  keep  in  com- 
munication with  your  people  and  have  them  look  to  you 
as  a  friend. 

As  far  as  accepting  pay  for  such  calls  goes,  I  think 
the  question  indicates  a  misunderstanding.  I  have 
been  trying  to  emphasize  modes  of  establishing  friendly 
relations  in  a  community  between  the  rabbi  and  the 
families  and  individuals  to  whom  he  ministers.  You 
would  not  take  pay  for  acts  of  friendship. 

Probably  the  question  hints  at  the  fee  system.  There 
is  a  custom  of  long  standing  for  people  to  send  the 
minister  an  expression  of  good  will  and  appreciation  in 
the  shape  of  a  fee  when  he  officiates  at  a  funeral, 
marriage,  Bar  Mitzbah,  confirmation,  dedication  of  a 
tombstone,  and  the  like.  My  judgment  is  that  this 
custom  has  been  very  deleterious  to  the  high  standing 
of  our  calling.  It  has  made  some  of  our  men  keep 
their  eye  constantly  on  the  purse  and  tended  to  lower 
the  standard  of  the  minister  by  putting  him  on  the 
plane  of  a  waiter  or  other  hireling  covetous  of  gratuities. 
I  do  not  wish  to  convey  to  you  the  impression  that  I  do 
not  value  money.  I  need  it.  We  all  need  it.  I  am 
not  getting  up  on  stilts  and  talking  down,  but  I  believe 
the  time  has  come  when,  as  a  body  of  men,  we  have  the 
right  to  take  a  stand  for  the  honor  of  our  calling.     The 


32  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

rabbi  of  another  day,  perhaps,  did  not  have  enough  to 
eat.  There  are  still  congregations  that  keep  the  rabbi 
on  a  starvation  income.  We  have  a  right  to  demand  of 
the  congregation  a  living  salary,  and  not  be  made  to 
depend  on  any  gratuities.  If  you  demonstrate  this 
attitude  of  right  and  honor  and  respect  for  your  pro- 
fession you  will  not  suffer  thereby  financially  or 
materially.  On  the  contrary,  your  own  courageous 
self-respect  will  react  on  the  whole  attitude  of  the 
people.  If  you  are  mercenary  you  make  them  so.  The 
reverse  is  no  less  true.  It  takes  time  and  patience  to 
train  the  public  to  that  point  of  view,  but  such  is  the 
minister's  task. 

Nevertheless  it  remains  true  that  people  feel  that  they 
want  to  express  to  the  minister  in  some  tangible  way 
their  gratitude  and  appreciation  on  certain  occasions. 
This  is  a  sentiment  one  dare  not  wantonly  offend.  As  a 
young  minister  resenting  the  fee  system  I  had  people 
take  great  offense  because  at  the  time  I  did  not  know 
how  to  go  about  returning  their  gifts.  I  learned  in  the 
course  of  time  from  my  blunders.  Formerly  I  used  to 
write  in  acknowledgement,  "With  your  consent  I  shall 
take  the  liberty  of  bestowing  your  gift  on  such  and  such 
a  charity."  But  one  day  a  man  wrote  me  somewhat 
resentfully,  "Send  my  check  back.  I  will  take  care  of 
my  own  charity."  Now  I  simply  write  that  I  shall 
use  the  money  for  such  and  such,  either  naming  the 
institution  or  not.  The  fee  system  being  so  strongly 
entrenched,  it  cannot  be  readily  abrogated.  Let  the 
fees   be   used   for   unselfish   purposes,   and   you   thus 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  33 

convey  to  the  congregation  the  idea  that  the  minister 
desires  to  stand  on  a  higher  plane  in  his  relation  to 
the  people.  Use  the  money  for  charitable,  educational 
and  religious  work.  Do  not  accept  it  as  a  mere  fee. 
The  acceptance  of  fees  and  gifts  from  confirmation 
classes  has  become  such  a  heavy  tax  that  the  poor 
exclude  their  children  to  evade  humiliation.  Mere 
preaching  will  be  useless  to  counteract  the  lavish 
bestowal  of  gifts  on  the  children  as  long  as  the  rabbi 
himself  sets  so  poor  an  example. 

Q.  Should  a  rabbi  expect  members  to  call  upon  him 
for  a  visit  before  he  calls  upon  them? 

A.  Courtesy  and  common  sense  should  rule  in 
establishing  the  relations  between  the  rabbi  and  his 
people.  That  the  members  of  the  congregation  should 
desire  to  meet  the  rabbi  and  provide  an  opportunity  to 
do  so  is  no  more  nor  less  than  the  courtesy  due  to  him 
as  a  stranger  and  new-comer  in  their  midst.  The  pre- 
vailing custom  is  for  the  congregation  to  create  an 
opportunity  for  him  to  meet  the  people  socially.  This 
generally  takes  the  form  of  a  public  reception,  either  in 
the  synagogue  or  some  other  public  place.  The  officers 
and  their  wives  serve  as  the  hosts  by  whom  the  members 
of  the  congregation  and  their  families  are  introduced  in 
turn  and  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  new 
minister.  You  may  rely  upon  the  natural  curiosity  of 
the  people  and  upon  simple  courtesy  to  prompt  them 
to  attend  the  reception.  Most  of  them  will  come  to 
take  a  look  at  you  and  to  take  your  measure  as  a  man, 
outside    of   the    pulpit.     Your    presumption    is    that 


34  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

every  one  has  come  to  welcome  you.  Some  may  send 
excuses,  such  as  absence  from  the  city  or  some  unavoid- 
able accident  that  prevented  them  from  coming  at  the 
appointed  time  and  place  to  meet  you.  In  general, 
however,  it  is  wise  to  take  it  for  granted  that  everyone 
has  solicited  your  personal  acquaintance  on  the  public 
occasion.  If,  however,  the  occasion  has  not  been  pro- 
vided, it  might  be  well  for  you  to  suggest  to  the  offi- 
cers that  you  be  given  an  opportunity  to  meet,  face  to 
face,  the  men  and  women  among  whom  you  will  work. 

A  rabbi  cannot  dedicate  himself  primarily  to  making 
visits.  Important  as  this  is,  it  is  not  of  the  main 
importance.     His  public  duties  soon  become  imperative. 

Q.  Why  is  the  rabbi  frequently  charged  with 
''catering  to  the  rich?" 

A.  Because  he  will  naturally  associate  mostly  with 
those  who,  having  the  time  and  the  means,  carry  the 
communal  responsibilities.  It  is  therefore  important 
that  the  rabbi  guard  against  justifying  this  charge. 
He  must  deliberately  aim  to  establish  a  personal,  friendly 
relation  with  all  his  people  and  resist  temptation 
to  limit  his  association  to  the  few  whom  he  may  elect. 

0 .  To  what  should  a  rabbi  of  a  congregation  in  both 
small  and  large  communities  limit  himself  in  the  way 
of  social  functions?  Is  it  improper  for  a  rabbi  to  dance, 
exercise  in  a  gymnasium,  share  in  the  public  bathing 
at  the  sea-shore,  and  the  like? 

A.  A  rabbi  is  to  live  a  normal  life  among  the  people. 
He  does  not  differ  in  social  instincts  and  desires  from 
other  normal  people.     He  needs  recreation.    The  rabbi 


THE  RABBI  AS  MINISTER  35 

lives  under  the  constant  stress  which  comes  with  his 
share  in  the  excitements  of  the  community  and  in  the 
troubles  of  individuals,  and  he  needs  must  relax  or  sin 
against  nature  and  suffer  the  inevitable  breakdown. 
President  Wilson,  I  understand,  in  these  trying  war 
times  goes  to  the  theatre  three  times  a  week  and  is  out 
on  the  golf  course  frequently.  We  must  keep  fit  if  we 
would  meet  our  responsibilities  capably.  Fortunately 
you  boys  in  college  now  are  being  brought  up  under 
quite  a  different  system  from  that  which  prevailed  in 
former  years.  In  my  day  we  had  no  time  assured  us 
for  athletics,  no  physician  to  look  after  us  and  direct 
us  as  to  our  physical  well-being.  You  are  being  advised 
how  best  to  conserve  health,  to  meet  successfully  the 
great  strain  on  your  nervous  and  physical  system  which 
is  entailed  by  the  life  of  a  minister.  I  advocate  the 
gymnasium  and  the  sea-bath.  I  loathe  that  sham 
delicacy  which  associates  indecency  with  the  human 
frame  as  God  has  created  it. 

I  believe  in  mingling  with  the  people  socially.  I  see 
no  reason  why  a  rabbi  should  not  occasionally  share  in 
dancing  if  he  knows  how  to  dance.  I  do  not  believe  in 
making  a  pursuit  of  this  or  any  other  pastime,  least  of 
all  playing  cards.  There  are  some  rabbis  to  my  knowl- 
edge who  have  cultivated  the  habit.  I  am  not  opposed 
to  playing  cards  as  long  as  it  is  recreation.  But  I  do  not 
believe  you  can  afford  to  cheat  yourselves  and  under- 
mine the  influence  you  want  to  exercise  over  the  people 
by  any  familiarity  of  that  kind.  Social  clubs  exist  in 
Jewish  communities.     I  am  an  honorary  member  of 


36  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

two,  and  on  occasions  share  in  the  social  festivities.  You 
can  afford  better  to  deny  yourself  some  things  than  give 
offense  to  others.  The  discipline  will  prove  wholesome 
both  for  you  and  your  people.  A  young  rabbi  once 
asked  me  if  I  would  sanction  dancing  on  a  Sunday  night 
in  his  school  building  opposite  a  church.  I  advised  his 
people  to  abstain  from  it  as  inconsiderate  of  the  sensi- 
bilities of  the  Christian  neighbors.  Use  your  common 
sense  and  hold  yourself  always  ready  to  make  some 
sacrifice.  In  all  such  cases  ask  yourself  what  a  con- 
siderate gentleman  would  do.  A  rabbi  needs  no  higher 
standards  and  will  follow  no  lower  ones. 


II 

THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER 

OUR  last  discourse  found  its  climax  in  emphasizing 
the  value  of  a  strong  personal  bond  between  the 
rabbi  and  his  people.  The  opportunity  to  establish 
such  a  bond  offers  itself  forthwith  when  you  enter  upon 
your  duties  as  a  teacher.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  the 
primary  significance  of  the  title  "rabbi"  is  "teacher." 
The  title  is  enhanced  in  dignity  and  significance  in  that 
the  people  themselves  have  for  centuries  given  to  it  the 
personal  touch,  by  making  the  pronominal  ending  an 
inseparable  part  of  the  title  itself.  Each  individual 
feels  himself  to  be  in  the  direct  personal  relationship  of 
pupil  or  disciple  when  he  addresses  his  "Rav"  as 
"Rabbi,"  "my  teacher,"  "my  master."  The  highest 
homage  has  been  paid  in  Israel  not  to  princes  and 
warriors,  but  to  scholars  and  teachers.  Moses  lives  in 
the  affections  of  the  generations  not  as  the  liberator, 
lawgiver,  or  prophet,  but  as  "Moshe  Rabbenu,"  "Moses 
our  teacher."  Ezra,  the  first  of  the  Scribes,  receives 
this  glowing  encomium  in  sacred  writ :  "Now  Ezra  had 
set  his  heart  to  seek  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to  do  it 
and  to  teach  in  Israel  statutes  and  ordinances."  (Ezra 
7:10).  His  motive  became  the  aim  and  ideal  of  all 
the  succeeding  generations  of  our  sages.  We  are  to  prove 
ourselves  worthy  of  so  noble  a  heritage.     It  cannot  be 


38  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

done  by  assuming  an  ecclesiastical  aloofness  and 
condescension,  much  less  by  a  cheap  familiarity  of 
manner. 

As  teachers,  we  must  set  our  hearts  to  the  task  of 
learning  how  to  create  the  friendliest  relationships  with 
those  we  teach  while  yet  constraining  in  them  the 
homage,  respect,  and  devotion  that  endure.  Other 
teachers  may  equip  their  pupils  with  intellectual 
attainments,  with  vocational  training,  or  cultural 
refinements.  For  the  teacher  of  religion  is  reserved  the 
distinction  and  the  sublime  responsibility  of  moulding 
character,  forming  convictions,  establishing  principles, 
and  inspiring  conduct  in  his  charges.  His  is  the 
joyous  privilege  to  cultivate  those  virtues  and  excel- 
lencies of  which  it  is  said  in  Mishnah  Peah  1.:  DTKttf 

"The  fruitage  is  enjoyed  here,  the  stalk  remains  here- 
after." 

It  is  with  a  spirit  of  consecration,  then,  that  the  rabbi 
approaches  his  task  as  a  teacher,  beginning  with  the 
little  children.  Among  them  he  realizes  the  profound 
purport  of  the  words  of  Rabbi  Jehuda  Hanassi :  D^lpn  pK 

"The  world  :  p-i  bv  mpwn  tan  7W  Hbti  D*pno 

is  sustained  by  the  breath  of  the  school-children."  (Sabb. 
119b).  What  you  make  of  the  boys  and  girls  entrusted 
to  your  care  will  determine  the  quality  of  the  men  and 
women  of  the  future.  The  standards  you  establish 
in  your  school  will  fix  the  standards  maintained  in  your 
pews.  The  earliest  and  most  unremitting  concern  of  a 
rabbi  therefore,  must  be  the  religious  school.     The 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  39 

problems  of  organization,  management,  and  discipline 
should  have  his  earnest  consideration  long  before  he 
assumes  charge.  All  the  questions  of  providing 
adequate  teachers  or  raising  the  standards  of  teaching 
and  concern  for  the  right  materials  of  instruction,  belong 
today  to  the  authority  which  is  implied  in  his  "Hattarat 
Hora'ah,"  "authority  to  teach  and  decide." 

I  cannot  urge  upon  you  too  strongly  the  necessity  of 
taking  advantage  of  every  opportunity  afforded  to  you 
by  the  pedagogical  courses  at  the  University  and  in  the 
Teachers'  Institute  of  the  College  and  the  practical 
teaching  experiences  of  the  religious  schools  of  the 
Jewish  community.  This  preparation  is  of  primary 
importance  to  you  in  your  future  responsibility  as 
superintendents  of  Religious  Schools.  But  with  the 
best  of  the  preliminary  training  available,  you  will  still 
find  that  you  will  need  the  aid  of  professional  teachers 
in  conducting  your  schools.  In  the  graded  schools  of 
our  congregations  the  standards  are  being  raised  every- 
where by  giving  preference  to  normal  school  graduates 
and  trained  teachers  for  our  classes.  Our  schools  are 
learning  to  value  such  services  and  to  pay  for  them. 
The  present  condition,  however,  is  serious  because  your 
teacher  may  be  trained  and  efficient  in  every  require- 
ment, but  lacking  in  the  essential,  i.  e.  the  highly 
specialized  knowledge  demanded  for  the  teaching  of 
Judaism  and  the  true  spirit  of  religious  zeal  and  devotion 
through  which  this  knowledge  is  to  be  imparted.  To 
meet  these  fatal  defects  such  endeavors  have  come  into 
existence  as  the  Correspondence  School  of  the  Jewish 
Chautauqua  Society,  its  Annual  Assemblies,  and  the 


40  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

extension  lectures  and  summer  courses  of  the  Teachers' 
Institute,  and  the  State  Conferences  of  Religious  School 
Teachers.     The  limitations  of  time  and  geographical 
position,  the  financial  hindrances,  and  other  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  these  undertakings  enable  them  to  do  but 
a  fragment  of  the  work  needed.     To  whatever  degree 
these  hindrances  may  be  overcome,  it  will  still  devolve 
upon  each  rabbi  to  be  in  his  community  the  teacher  of 
his  teachers.     By  this  I  do  not  mean  that  he  is  to  set 
himself  up  as  superior  in  the  theory  and  practice  of 
pedagogy,  but  of  religion.     I  find  it  well  to  have  a 
public  school  principal  carry  on  the  practical  manage- 
ment of  my  school,  and  to  have  normal  school  graduates 
in  charge  of  the  classes.     I  am  glad  to  be  relieved  of  the 
mechanical  side  of  the  school  system.     The  rabbi  as 
superintendent  has,  I  feel,  a  responsibility  and  force  to 
exercise  of  far  more  value.     His  must  be  the  subtle  but 
none  the  less  real  influence  that  pervades  the  school 
and  insures  in  it  a  reverent  atmosphere  and  a  genuinely 
Jewish  spirit.     He  must  supervise  the  instruction  and 
infuse  into  the  class-room  work  of  each  teacher  the 
distinctive  religious  motive  and  aim.     For  herein  alone 
lies  the  significance  and  justification  of  the  Religious 
School  as  such. 

There  is  a  strong  line  of  differentiation  between 
secular  and  Religious  Schools.  This  is  emphasized  by 
the  American  principle  of  the  absolute  separation  of 
Church  and  State.  In  secular  schools  all  instruction  in 
matters  of  religious  belief  and  all  forms  of  religious 
practices  must  be  rigidly  excluded  in  deference  to  the 
great  principles  of  religious  freedom  and  the  rights  of 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  41 

conscience.  While  all  schools  must  be  moral  and  train 
in  moral  conduct,  it  is  the  distinct  province  of  the  Reli- 
gious School  to  teach  those  sanctions  of  morality  and 
grounds  of  obligation  which  are  above  mere  utility.  It 
is  the  function  of  the  Religious  School  to  apply  what 
the  secular  school  may  not  and  must  not  touch  upon, 
and  that  is,  the  authority  which  makes  morality 
mandatory.  This  authority  is  differently  defined  by 
different  religions.  The  definitions  are  variously  inter- 
preted within  the  schools  of  one  and  the  same  religion. 
But  whether  it  be  a  system  of  transcendental  philosophy, 
the  "categoric  imperative"  of  duty,  or  a  divine  revela- 
tion, however  literally  or  broadly  accepted,  some 
definite,  binding  authority  as  the  source  of  obligation 
must  be  carried  home  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  pupil. 
The  solemn  sanctities  that  seize  upon  the  soul  and 
constrain  its  impulses  toward  right  action  must  be 
effectively  utilized,  if  we  would  create  pure,  reverent, 
self-sacrificing  character. 

Judaism  has  its  own  methods  of  attaining  this  end. 
It  has  its  own  simple  and  effective  doctrines,  its  own 
sanctified  expressions  of  the  religious  sentiments, 
convictions,  and  ideals  through  which  it  touches  the 
souls  of  its  devotees.  The  Jewish  School  is  distinct 
from  the  schools  of  other  religions  in  using  these  Jewish 
methods  of  awakening  and  deepening  the  religious  life. 
The  curriculum  therefore  calls  for  imparting  by  means 
of  the  Jewish  appeal,  the  sanctions  of  morality  and  the 
modes  for  cultivating  the  religious  sentiment.  It 
should  aim  to  strengthen  the  consciousness  through  the 
hallowed  observances  which  are  the  creation  of  the 


42  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Jewish  spirit.     Each  school  must  apply  them  in  con- 
formity with  its  own  standpoint. 

This  is  a  program  which  cannot  be  fully  carried  out 
in  the  limited  time  of  the  religious  school  which  meets 
only  for  a  couple  of  hours  on  Sunday.  Because  of  this 
fact  you  will  find,  as  I  have  found  in  practical  exper- 
ience, that  the  curriculum  of  the  school  must  be 
extended  greatly.  After  persistent  efforts  throughout 
the  years,  the  studies  of  the  religious  school  have  been 
expanded  to  parallel  those  of  the  grammar  grades  of  the 
public  schools.  This  is  now  supplemented  by  a  four  year 
High  School  course  of  which  the  Confirmation  Class 
constitutes  the  first  or  Freshman  year.  Following  the 
High  School  course,  opportunity  for  adults  is  provided 
in  religious  study  clubs  or  circles  in  which  a  group  of 
men  and  women  follow  advanced  studies  on  Jewish 
subjects  selected  at  their  own  option  from  year  to  year 
and  affording  opportunity  for  discussing  live  issues  of 
Jewish  life,  Judaism,  its  principle,  and  its  practices.  In 
all  the  school  grades,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest, 
modes  are  provided  for  translating  into  conduct  the 
lessons  of  religion  which  are  taught.  For  the  higher 
grades  a  Junior  Congregation,  modeled  on  the  lines  of 
the  Congregation  proper,  enlists  its  members  in  the 
conducting  of  adjunct  religious  services  on  the  High 
Holidays  and  Sabbath  Eve  for  those  otherwise  unpro- 
vided for.  It  also  engages  in  important  public  social 
service  activities  and,  in  general,  aims  to  promote 
friendly  relations  among  the  members  and  to  supple- 
ment all  congregational  undertakings. 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  43 

The  rabbi  as  leader  and  guide  in  such  educational 
endeavors  may  find  ample  scope  to  teach  old  and  young 
and  to  provide  opportunity  for  instruction  for  all,  from 
the  age  of  seven  to  seventy.  The  important  question 
is,  "How  shall  the  rabbi  utilize  all  this  splendid  oppor- 
tunity to  serve  as  a  teacher  and  as  a  teacher  of  those  who 
teach  under  his  direction?" 

The  reply  that  is  made  to  this  inquiry  is,  "Let  him 
teach  the  Bible,  the  world's  greatest  text-book  of  morals 
and  religion."  This  is  indeed  the  method  of  the 
Jewish  Schools  whose  motto  is,  "Talmud  Torah  keneged 
kullom,"  "Of  all  obligations  the  study  of  the  Torah 
is  the  chief  one."  No  other  people  has  elevated  study 
to  so  high  a  plane  as  has  the  Jewish  people.  The 
universal  system  of  Bible  reading  in  our  synagogues  is 
an  offering  of  the  intellect  in  the  service  of  the  Divine. 
"Ain  am  haaretz  chasid,"  "No  ignoramus  can  be  truly 
pious,"  is  the  proverbial  maxim  of  the  people. 

The  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  unquestionably  of  the 
first  importance.  The  distinction  must,  however,  be 
clearly  kept  in  mind  between  teaching  and  preaching. 
The  criticism  is  sometimes  made  that  rabbis  are  not 
apt  to  be  good  teachers  because  they  are  prone  to 
preach  rather  than  teach.  We  shall  have  occasion  in 
our  next  discourse  to  treat  of  the  method  and  aim  of 
preaching.  A  Bible  lesson,  to  be  taught  effectively, 
must  be  so  presented  that  the  religious  and  moral  con- 
tents are  conveyed  indirectly  and  by  implication,  and 
not  as  something  added, — an  anticlimax. 

However,  the  voice  of  experience  warns  us,  and  the 
modern  psychological  school  of  pedagogy  insists,  that 


44  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

as  a  mere  intellectual  exercise  Bible  study  is  in  itself 
inadequate.  After  your  pupils  have  learned  all  about 
the  Bible,  its  language,  history  and  literature,  its  texts 
of  wisdom,  the  lyrics  of  its  psalmists,  and  the  eloquence 
of  its  prophets;  nay,  though  they  master  the  whole 
continuous  output  of  our  great  historical  literature 
inspired  by  the  Bible,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  will 
have  in  their  hearts  the  sure  restraints  of  morality,  the 
glad  compulsions  of  duty,  and  the  reverent  qualities  of 
soulfulness.  Something  more  than  knowledge  is  neces- 
sary. This  something  more  is  the  subtle  essence  of  the 
personality  of  the  teacher,  through  which  the  knowledge 
is  conveyed.  Through  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  your 
personality  must  shine  with  such  a  glowing  radiance 
as  to  illumine  the  very  soul  of  the  child.  You  must 
show  by  what  you  are  and  what  you  do  that  the  pre- 
cepts you  teach  are  your  own.  Show  that  you 
thoroughly  hate  what  is  false  and  love  what  is  true  and 
you  will  vitalize  the  Bible  teaching  even  on  its  intellec- 
tual side,  you  will  make  your  pupils  abhor  the  false 
and  lead  them  so  to  love  the  truth  that  through  you 
they  receive  the  intense  conviction  and  sublime  revela- 
tion that  God  is  Truth.  TOK  Wpn  TV  IBnin  As  the 
rabbis  put  it,  "The  seal  of  God  is  truth."— (Sabb.  64). 
You  wish  to  teach  definite  moral  precepts.  You  are 
to  quicken  the  conscience  of  your  pupils  and  make  them 
ever  responsive  to  the  call  of  duty.  You  may  have 
children  glibly  recite  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the 
sterling  precepts  of  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus, 
but  to  make  these  vital  and  of  immediate  and  perma- 
nent effect  your  personality  is  needed.     If  you  want 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  45 

your  pupils  to  be  prompt  and  regular  in  attendance, 
obedient  to  every  requirement  of  the  school,  then  you 
yourself  must  be  conscientious  in  every  detail.  The  old 
Jewish  injunction,  "Lo  Hammidrash  ikkor  elo  Ham- 
maaseh,"  "Not  knowing,  but  doing,  is  the  principal 
thing,"  must  find  clear  and  faithful  demonstration  in 
your  own  conduct.  Thereby  the  child  must  be  made 
to  feel  a  loathing  and  shame  for  every  moral  lapse,  and 
in  the  same  degree  must  be  inspired  with  such  an 
earnest  love  for  what  is  right  that  it  comes  to  realize 
that  God  is  Righteousness. 

Another  important  precept  of  Jewish  pedagogy  which 
has  direct  reference  to  the  personality  of  the  teacher  is 
this:  "Lo  Ha-kapdon  Melamed,"  "No  hot-tempered 
person  can  teach."  He  who  is  set  to  rule  the  will  of 
others  must  rule  his  own  will  first.  In  the  self-discipline 
of  the  teacher  the  pupil  finds  the  most  telling  exemplifi- 
cation of  that  noble  fruitage  of  education, — self-control. 
Shouting,  screaming,  exhibitions  of  petulance,  temper, 
and  rage  are  absolutely  ruinous  to  teaching.  The 
equability  and  serenity  of  the  teacher,  especially  under 
provocation,  is  the  primary  quality  through  which  the 
pupil  imbibes  the  calmness  of  a  dignified,  self-contained 
attitude  of  judgment.  This  quality  is  essential  in 
defeating  misunderstanding,  prejudice,  and  a  thousand 
other  cruelties.  Let  the  light  of  fairness  stream  out 
upon  your  doings,  so  that  you  may  bring  to  your  pupils 
some  glimmerings  of  the  revelation  that  God  is  Justice. 

If  thus  you  appeal  to  the  intellect,  conscience,  and 
will,  no  less  must  you  put  your  heart  into  your  teach- 
ing.   The  unemotional  teacher,  devoid  of  enthusiasm, 


46  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

working  like  a  passionless  machine,  will  deaden  the 
nobler  impulses  of  even  the  best  of  pupils.  The  finer 
graces  of  character  cannot  be  taught  from  books,  and 
religion  cannot  be  learned  by  rote.  These  inhere  in 
the  mystic  contagion  of  personality  which  passes  from 
the  loving  mother  to  the  fond  child,  from  the  anxious 
father  to  the  trusting  son  and  in  a  potent  measure  also 
from  the  patient  and  loving  teacher  to  the  admiring 
pupils.  A  close  sympathetic  relation  must  be  estab- 
lished between  teacher  and  class.  The  heart  must  be 
in  the  work  that,  out  of  the  glowing  exultation  of  warm- 
hearted and  mutual  devotion,  may  stream  forth  the 
revelation  that  God  is  Love. 

You  are  working  upon  the  mind,  the  conscience,  the 
will,  and  the  heart  of  your  pupils.  What  is  the  result 
you  are  to  seek  with  clear  and  unwavering  purpose?  It 
is  a  certain  indefinable  but  none  the  less  real  quality 
which  is  the  essence  of  purity,  truthfulness,  righteous- 
ness, justice,  and  love,  that  quality  which  makes  for 
force  of  character  and  which  we  call  soulfulness. 

Cultivate  in  your  pupils  the  sense  of  wonder.  Do  not 
let  them  miss  the  daily  uplift  of  the  beauty  and  glory  of 
the  divine  message  of  God's  handiwork.  Reveal  to 
them  the  majesty  and  dignity  of  the  great  endowments 
of  the  soul  by  which  the  human  is  lifted  from  the  brutal 
to  the  divine.  Quicken  the  sense  of  awe  and  gratitude 
for  the  loving  providence  which  is  everywhere  manifest, 
so  that  without  fear  or  compulsion  the  child  may  come 
to  realize  with  gladness  that  God  is  worshipful. 

I  believe  that  the  habit  of  both  public  and  private 
worship  is  of  supreme  value  in  cultivating  a  truly 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  47 

religious  character,  but  only  when  infused  with  genuine 
soulfulness  and  spirit.  I  believe  that  the  precepts  and 
doctrines  of  religion  must  be  taught  and  explained,  but 
these  are  matters  of  theology  which  is  a  highly  impor- 
tant part  of  religion  but  not  all  of  it.  Theology  is  the 
thought  of  man  about  God,  duty  and  destiny.  Religion 
is  the  resultant  attitude  of  the  soul  toward  the  universe 
and  the  Creator,  potent  in  determining  conduct  and 
moulding  character.  This  attitude  the  teacher  must 
cultivate  within  himself  would  he  impart  it  to  others. 
It  is  all  in  all  a  personal  relation.  Such  has  it  been 
among  us  from  of  yore.  It  is  this  personal  touch  with 
his  pupils  which  the  teacher  must  cultivate  if  his 
teaching  is  to  be  really  effective  in  developing  the 
personal  "spiritual  touch"  between  the  individual  soul 
and  God.  Let  us  emphasize  this  significant  tradition 
of  the  Jewish  schools.  To  Comenius'  maxim,  "We  learn 
by  doing,"  and  to  Froebel's  creative  principle,  "We  grow 
by  doing,"  let  us  apply  the  equally  vital  truth  "We 
teach  by  being." 


Questions  and  Answers 

0.  Do  you  consider  the  development  of  a  Jewish 
consciousness  essential  in  the  religious  training  of  the 
Jewish  child? 

A.  It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  ask  that  ques- 
tion after  the  emphasis  laid  upon  it  in  my  paper.  I 
think  the  Jewish  school  has  no  right  to  exist  unless  it 
will  do  just  that.  Otherwise  you  might  as  well  send 
your  child  to  the  Unitarian,  Methodist,  Ethical  or  any 
other  non-Jewish  school. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  the  "Jewish  spirit?" 
You  said,  "Let  there  be  a  distinctly  Jewish  atmosphere 
in  the  school,"  and  yet  you  declare  the  chief  object  of 
the  school  to  be  the  training  of  religious  and  moral 
character.     This  object  is  practically  non-sectarian. 

A.  Spirit  is  so  subtle  that  it  eludes  definition.  Yet 
it  is  so  real  that  you  are  immediately  aware  and  able  to 
speak  with  definiteness  of  the  spirit  which  pervades  an 
occasion,  which  marks  an  event,  or  characterizes  an 
address.  "Atmosphere"  is  so  pervasive  it  cannot  be 
confined,  yet  both  literally  and  figuratively  it  is  the  very 
element  of  life  which  we  breathe  and  "in  which  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being."  You  are  conscious,  e.  g., 
of  the  fact  that  the  atmosphere  which  pervades  a  public 
gathering,  such  as  an  assembly  for  worship,  is  reveren- 
tial, impressive,  edifying,  and  inspiring,  or  lacking  in 
these  lofty  qualities.  It  is  true  that  the  fundamentals 
of  morality  and  religion  are  shared  by  many  groups,  yet 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  49 

each  group,  in  the  exercise  and  expression  of  its  religious 
life,  develops  a  distinct  spirit  of  its  own.  The  Jewish 
spirit  and  the  Jewish  atmosphere  are  very  exalted  and 
are  real  elements,  of  whose  presence  or  absence  you 
become  speedily  conscious  in  the  home,  in  the  syna- 
gogue, or  in  the  class-room  instruction.  How  do  you 
recognize  it?  As  we  learn  by  contrast,  it  may  be  best 
to  indicate  that  there  is  a  marked  difference,  e.g., 
between  the  Jewish,  the  Christian,  and  the  pagan 
spirit.  The  pagan  spirit  is  entranced  with  and  exalts 
the  outer  appearance  of  things;  it  worships  beauty, 
glorifies  strength,  deifies  the  material  universe. 

The  Jew  interprets  the  material  in  spiritual  terms, 
looks  beneath  outward  form  and  phenomena  to  causes 
and  glorifies  the  Creator,  not  the  creature.  Herein 
Christianity  is  at  one  with  Judaism.  But  the  daughter 
religion  has  separated  from  the  mother  religion  in  that 
the  "Christian  spirit"  is  essentially  pietistic,  contem- 
plative, and  marked  by  "other  worldliness,"  the  product 
of  a  deepened  mysticism. 

The  Jewish  spirit  is  revealed  in  that  attitude  towards 
the   unknown   which    declares:    Wnbti   HT\b   rmnDl"! 

rrnnn  ■nrr-te-riK  rmyh  d^jj-tj;  mxfri  i:b  nitorn 

nN?n  :  "The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our 
God,  but  the  things  revealed  belong  to  us  and  to  our 
children  forever,  that  we  may  do  all  the  words  of  this 
law."  (Deut  29:29).  The  Jewish  spirit  is  primarily 
distinguished  by  a  certain  clear  and  direct  mental 
attitude.  It  assumes  the  rationalizing  attitude  towards 
all  subjects  within  the  scope  of  reason.  It  is  possessed 
of  a  certain  practical  quality  called  Tachlith,  JV^n 


50  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

meaning  "end,  object,  purpose,"  or  what  we  would  call 
the  "common-sense  and  utility  of  a  thing."  It  is 
content  to  leave  to  God  the  secrets  of  the  unknown,  the 
unknowable,  and  the  hereafter.  Instead  of  brooding 
over  them  it  accepts  life  and  what  it  reveals  in  order  "to 
do  the  words  of  this  law."  Therefore  Judaism  has 
produced  a  distinctively  Jewish  system  of  ethics.  The 
emphasis  of  the  Law  and  the  prophets  is  on  conduct. 
Their  eternal  cry  is  for  righteousness  and  justice  and 
truth  in  human  relations,  whereas  in  Christian  Ethics 
the  yearning  is  primarily  for  love,  mercy  and  forgive- 
ness. (Consult  Moritz  Lazarus's  great  work  on 
"Jewish  Ethics.") 

The  Jewish  spirit  also  manifests  itself  in  specific 
Jewish  doctrines  concerning  God  and  man,  duty  and 
destiny.  We  have  a  clearly  denned  "Jewish  Theology" 
developed  through  centuries,  but  which  has  for  the  first 
time  been  co-ordinated  and  organized  on  the  basis  of 
modern  scientific  treatment  in  the  masterly  work  of 
Dr.  K.  Kohler,  in  his  "Jewish  Theology,"  the  recent 
publication  of  which  has  been  hailed  with  delight. 

Moreover,  the  Jewish  spirit  has  stirred  the  creative 
genius  of  its  people,  in  the  course  of  the  centuries,  to  find 
consistent  modes  of  expression  in  ceremonials,  rites, 
festivals  and  hallowed  observances  touching  all  life's 
experiences  from  birth  to  the  grave.  These  observances 
are  rich  in  charm  and  potent  as  a  cult  to  impress  the 
souls  of  men,  women,  and  children  alike.  Jewish  people 
respond  with  understanding  and  sympathy  to  appeals 
of  this  kind  which  stir  up  the  dormant  sentiment  and 
kindle  the  ardor  of  their  devotion.     Thus  if  you  hold 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  51 

aloft  a  copy  of  the  Hebrew  Scrolls  of  the  Law  before  a 
general  audience,  it  may  interest  them  as  the  survival 
of  something  antique  in  the  age  of  printing.  But  a 
"Sepher  Torah"  uplifted  in  the  midst  of  a  devout 
Jewish  Congregation  is  the  call  to  rally  about  the 
standard  under  which  our  sires  marched  throughout  the 
ages.  This  act  sets  the  heart  throbbing  with  a  renewed 
fervor  of  loyalty  to  those  divine  principles  enshrined  in 
the  Scroll,  in  whose  behalf  we  stand  ready  to  make 
sacrifices  no  less  real  than  those  which  glorified  our  sires. 

Now  the  Jewish  school,  no  less  than  the  home  and 
the  synagogue,  is  the  repository  of  noble  Jewish  tradi- 
tions through  which  the  Jewish  spirit  has  been  conserved 
and  developed  from  generation  to  generation.  The 
fascinating  story  of  Israel's  preservation  is  largely  a 
story  of  our  schools  and  teachers.  You  know  the 
thrilling  episode  of  how  Rabbi  Jochanan  ben  Zakkai 
was  borne  at  night  out  of  the  beleaguered  city  of 
Jerusalem  in  a  coffin  on  the  shoulders  of  his  disciples, 
and  gaining  access  to  the  tent  of  the  Roman  general 
Titus,  besought  the  simple  privilege  of  opening  a  school 
in  the  seacoast  town  of  Jabne  ( Jaffe) .  The  Temple  fell, 
the  national  government  disappeared,  but  Israel  has 
since  lived  in  the  schools. 

The  history  of  Jewish  education  has  developed  some 
exceedingly  interesting  and  valuable  chapters  of  which 
even  our  modern  pedagogues  have  scant  knowledge,  to 
our  shame  be  it  confessed.  Thus,  we  have  some  original 
modes  of  teaching  which  should  be  utilized  and  cher- 
ished in  our  schools  today  and  by  means  of  which  we 
may  impart  a  distinctively  Jewish  flavor  and  atmos- 


52  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

phere  to  our  instruction.  I  refer  to  the  Mashal,  the 
Midrash,  and  the  Posek,  i.  e.  the  use  of  proverbs, 
parables,  allegories  and  texts  that  flood  our  literature. 
The  modern  system  of  "International  Sunday  School 
Lessons"  is  but  a  feeble  imitation  of  our  ancient  and 
universal  system  of  the  weekly  reading  and  study  of  the 
sections  of  the  Torah,— the  "Parashah" — as  well  as  of 
the  prophets  and  other  scriptures, — the  "Haftarah." 
Object  lessons  of  exquisite  beauty  and  significance  are 
embodied  in  our  festival  observances.  These  enshrine 
for  child  and  for  adult,  in  tangible  form,  the  outward 
tokens  of  the  inward  Jewish  spirit,  and  stimulate  its 
expression  through  our  exalted  prayers  and  stirring 
hymnology. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  fundamentals  of  all  moral 
and  religious  training  are  non-sectarian,  this  fact  must 
not  dull  our  apprehension  of  the  truth  that,  to  make 
these  fundamentals  vital  in  the  life  of  the  individual, 
each  historic  group  needs  those  modes  of  appeal  and 
soul-gripping  force  which  are  the  outcome  of  its  own 
needs  and  strivings,  its  own  memories  and  achieve- 
ments. Thus  it  becomes  the  function  of  the  Jewish 
teacher  to  conserve  the  Jewish  spirit  and  to  utilize  its 
modes  of  expression  in  the  education  of  the  Jewish  child. 
To  neglect  these  modes  and  to  turn  our  schools  into 
mere  "ethical  schools,"  barren  of  the  influences  and 
sanctions  of  the  Jewish  religion,  is  to  cast  away  as  tinsel 
those  precious  gems  for  which  generations  have  lived, 
endured,  and  suffered  martyrdom. 

Q.  Would  you  teach  Orthodox  children  Reform 
Judaism? 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  53 

A .  Yes,  and  also  the  reverse.  I  would  have  Reform 
and  Orthodox  understand  and  respect  each  other's 
convictions.  Children  come  to  the  school  from  homes 
of  the  Orthodox  who  misunderstand  Reform,  and  there 
are  children  who  come  from  the  homes  of  Reform 
parents  who  scoff  at  Orthodoxy.  When  children  come 
to  my  school  from  Orthodox  homes  I  have  a  right  to 
presume  that  they  are  sent  to  me  for  that  interpretation 
of  Judaism  which  it  is  known  I  teach.  It  appears  to  me 
that  the  time  has  come  in  the  history  of  our  development 
when  we  can  afford  to  be  just  and  generous  with  one 
another.  In  fact,  we  cannot  afford  any  longer  to  bring  up 
Jewish  children  ignorant  of  the  good  things  in  Judaism, 
whatever  be  the  varying  forms  of  expression  and  interpre- 
tation they  may  have  found.  I  want  the  boys  and  girls 
to  know  about  Orthodox  Judaism  and,  as  I  teach  from 
a  Reform  standpoint,  I  want  them  to  understand  that 
standpoint  and  know  when  and  why  we  consider  ourselves 
justified  in  departing  from  the  Orthodox  views.  I  want 
them  to  appreciate  our  reconstructive  efforts  to  reform 
our  religious  life  and  to  keep  it  consistent,  vital,  and 
true  for  us.  Pupils  in  my  school  see  the  "Tallit,"  the 
"Mezuzah,"  and  other  symbols  whether  we  use  them  or 
not,  and  are  given  some  explanation  of  their  origin  and 
significance  and  the  sentiment  attached  to  them,  and  of 
the  reason  why,  by  many,  they  are  still  held  in  reverence. 
We  lose  nothing,  in  my  judgment,  by  making  this 
apparent,  and  we  gain  tremendously  when  they  learn 
to  justify  the  Reform  standpoint  as  an  evolution  from 
what  to  us  are  obsolete  modes  of  expressing  our  religious 
convictions  and  sentiments. 


54  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

0 .  When  the  teaching  staff  is  made  up  of  benevolent 
women  of  the  congregation  who  unfortunately  know 
little  of  methods  of  teaching  or  the  materials  of  instruc- 
tion, how  shall  the  young  rabbi  proceed  in  eliminating 
them? 

A.  Unless  he  have  ready  to  fill  their  places  others 
who  do  know  both  method  and  material  of  instruction, 
it  were  wise  for  the  rabbi  not  to  proceed  to  eliminate. 
Let  him  rather  educate  them.  With  the  basis  of  a 
benevolent  interest  in  the  school  and  a  reasonable 
preliminary  education  these  women  offer  splendid 
material  to  work  with. 

It  was  after  a  trip  across  the  country  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast,  visiting  many  of  the  cities 
and  towns  en  route  and  investigating  the  conditions  of 
our  religious  schools,  that  Dr.  William  Rosenau  and  I 
came  to  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  the  most  pressing 
need  of  our  schools  at  present  is  some  practical  mode  of 
giving  help  to  this  very  class  of  earnest-minded  young 
amateur  teachers.  As  a  result,  we  planned  out  and 
brought  into  existence  the  "Correspondence  School  for 
Religious  School  Teachers,"  conducted  by  the  Jewish 
Chautauqua  Society  from  its  home  office  in  Phila- 
delphia. You  will  find  in  that  school  a  direct  and  prac- 
tical answer  to  your  query. 

Q.  Would  you  insist  upon  the  system  of  paid 
teachers  as  a  principle? 

A.  My  answer  to  this  question  is  revealed  in  the 
fact  that  I  have  none  but  paid  teachers  in  my  school. 
I  do  not  mean  to  cast  aspersions  on  the  value  of  the  work 
of  any  really  capable,  earnest-minded,  and  truly  conse- 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  55 

crated  individual,  ready  to  sacrifice  his  time  and  energy 
in  the  work  of  teaching,  but  I  believe  the  time  has  come 
when   our   congregations   must   be   taught   that   the 
religious  school  is  too  serious  and  important  to  be  trifled 
with  or  treated  as  subsidiary.     Thousands  of  dollars 
are  spent  on  music,  on  architecture,  on  decoration.     Yet 
these  are  mere  externalities  and,  in  my  judgment,  of 
minor  import  as  compared  with  the  fundamental  value 
of  the  educational  work  to  be  done  under  the  auspices 
of  the  congregation.     In  order  to  put  into  the  minds  of 
the  people  a  sense  of  appreciation  of  these  values,  I 
have  made  it  my  task  to  teach  the  congregation  that  the 
services  of  the  teacher  are  worthy  of  the  highest  pay. 
We  pay  all  our  teachers  what  I  believe  is  liberal  com- 
pensation for  the  service  which  entails  upon  them  two 
hours  a  week  of  time  and  the  expectation  that  they 
prepare  their  work  outside  of  the  class  room.    The 
salaries  are  graded  according  to  time  of  service  and  merit. 
Under    present    conditions,  I    consider    it    absolutely 
necessary  and  essential  to  pay  the  teachers.     It  is  no 
reflection   on  the   Rabbi's  sincerity  or  zeal  that  he 
receives  a  salary  to  enable  him  to  live.  The  same  applies 
to  every  teacher.     I  think  it  an  imposition  on  any 
teacher,  especially  if  teaching  be  the  profession  of  that 
individual,    to    take    this    service   without    adequate 
remuneration.  I  believe  it  is  essential,  in  order  to  have  a 
well-organized  school,  that  we  should  have  paid  teachers. 

Q.     Why  is  it  that  the  adolescent  child  is  so  indiffer- 
ent to  religious  school  instruction? 

A.     This  question  rests  on  an  assertion  which,  in  my 
judgment,   is  altogether  too  positive  and  sweeping. 


56  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Experience  and  observation  make  me  doubt  the  truth 
of  the  assertion  that  all  adolescents  are  indifferent.  I 
have  found  many  who  have  evinced  a  very  deep  interest. 
Such  works  as  Starbuck's  "The  Psychology  of  Religion" 
and  Stanley  Hall's  "Adolescence,"  provide  exceedingly 
interesting  and  valuable  studies  bearing  on  the  subject. 
Indeed,  the  period  of  hero-worship,  of  romance,  and  the 
awakening  of  the  chivalric  impulses  and  ideals  would 
rather  seem  to  be  one  profoundly  susceptible  to  religious 
impressions.  Indeed,  because  of  this,  Prof.  Stanley 
Hall  speaks  in  highest  praise  of  the  Confirmation 
Services  of  our  youth  in  the  Reform  Synagogue. 

Our  judgment  as  to  the  proverbial  indifference  of  the 
adolescent  is  prone  to  be  a  misjudgment.  We  fail  to 
realize  that  with  Confirmation  the  religious  spirit  is 
brought  to  an  intense  climax  and  thereafter  allowed  to 
lapse  because  we  have  made  little  or  no  provision  for 
continued  participation  of  our  young  people  in  either 
congregational  or  school  activities.  But  even  when 
efforts  are  made  to  provide  such  opportunity,  compara- 
tively few  make  use  of  them.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
account  for  this.  In  the  first  place  the  force  of  prece- 
dent and  tradition  is  lacking.  It  takes  years  to  estab- 
lish these,  as  the  history  of  Confirmation  or  any  other 
religious  innovation  proves.  Once  the  current  sets  in 
their  favor  the  succeeding  generations  naturally  follow 
in  the  channel  cut  out. 

However,  the  important  fact  remains  that  when 
religion  has  claimed  the  active  interest  of  the  child,  it 
was  due  to  parental  authority.  That  authority,  when 
adolescence  arrives,  can  no  longer  be  exercised  with 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  57 

unquestioned  rigor  without  defeating  its  aim.  The 
personality  of  youth,  the  rights  of  independent  judg- 
ment, and  the  freedom  of  responsibility  assert  them- 
selves and  must  be  guided,  not  coerced.  Unless  the 
youth  elects  to  share  in  the  religious  life  it  will  not  be 
true  or  warm-hearted.  Compulsion  here  is  apt  to  breed 
hostility  that  may  be  fatal.  The  fact  is  that  the  adolescent 
is  engaged  in  making  the  most  difficult  adjustments 
of  his  whole  life.  From  the  simple  carefree  days  of 
childhood  the  girl  and  boy  now  pass  into  the  age  of 
responsibility  when  they  must  choose  and  act  for  them- 
selves. The  college  world,  or  the  world  of  industry 
and  commerce,  opens  to  them.  Society  begins  to  cast  its 
spell  about  them.  They  join  clubs  and  fraternal  orders. 
Let  us  not  harass  our  adolescents.  Give  them  time  and 
sympathetic  understanding  and  the  force  of  consistent 
example  and  teaching  to  counteract  hostile  influences. 

Q.  To  what  extent  can  conduct  be  enforced  in 
religious  schools?    How  do  you  handle  the  "bad  boy?" 

A.  It  is  a  sorry  school  in  which  it  is  necessary  to 
enforce  conduct.  The  religious  school  must  have  a 
standard  so  high  that  questions  of  discipline  will  take 
care  of  themselves.  This  cannot  be  attained  in  a 
moment.  It  often  takes  years  even  to  approximate  it. 
I  believe  you  can  secure  as  fine  descipline  in  a  religious 
school  as  in  the  public  school  and  with  far  less  rigor. 
One  of  the  simplest  methods,  according  to  my  experience, 
is  this:  adopt  in  your  school,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
machinery  to  which  the  children  are  accustomed 
throughout  the  entire  week.  They  will  fall  into  the 
system  as  a  matter  of  course.   If,  in  the  religious  school, 


58  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

they  find  a  totally  different  method  of  procedure,  they 
are  obliged  to  readjust  themselves  and  to  learn  from 
the  beginning.  You  may  take  advantage  of  the  drill 
the  child  has  acquired  throughout  the  week  by  using  the 
same  rules  of  order,  of  conduct,  of  keeping  records, 
registration,  marks,  advancement,  and  promotion. 
You  will  find  half  the  problem  solved. 

The  other  half  is  very  much  more  difficult  because  it 
does  not  exist  in  the  secular  schools.  It  arises  out  of  the 
fact  that  boys  and  girls  come  to  the  religious  school  in  a 
totally  different  frame  of  mind.  They  come  more  or 
less  in  a  holiday  spirit.  The  week-day,  secular  attitude 
towards  work  has  been  cast  aside.  They  are  in  a 
different  environment,  their  associates  are  their  nearest 
friends,  relatives,  and  intimates.  Moreover,  they  come 
with  their  Sabbath  clothes  on;  the  little  girls  with 
spangles  and  ribbons,  the  boys  with  their  watches,  pins, 
and  gee-gaws.  All  these  are  sources  of  obstruction 
which  become  very  serious.  There  is  no  patent  method 
of  overcoming  this  obstructive  spirit.  One  secret  of 
eliminating  the  necessity  of  enforcing  discipline  lies  in 
the  simple  word  "interest."  Work  by  every  means  to 
secure  and  to  hold  the  interest  of  your  pupils.  Fascinate 
them  with  the  method,  the  manner,  and  the  matter  of 
instruction  and  they  forget  all  about  all  these  extraneous 
things.  To  get  their  interest  requires  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher  ample  preparation.  The  lesson  must  be 
well  in  hand,  clearly  outlined,  and  the  plan  of  the  lesson 
must  be  strictly  followed.  You  must  know  not  merely 
what  the  lesson  requires  but  matter  to  fill  out  and 
expand  it.     The  teacher  must  be  versatile,  ready  for 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  59 

emergencies,  brimful  of  illustrations  taken  from  the  life 
of  the  child  and  within  the  scope  of  its  experience.  In 
this  way  you  can  eliminate  many  difficulties. 

As  to  the  "bad  boy,"  cultivate  him  especially,  keep 
him  busy,  and  strive  to  make  him  your  friend.  I  never 
would  expell  a  child  from  the  religious  school.  This 
means  surrender.  The  worse  the  child,  the  more  he 
needs  the  school.  Of  course,  if  the  offense  be  criminal, 
the  law  intercedes  and  removes  the  child.  The 
sympathy  of  the  teacher  should  go  out  especially  to  the 
child  that  is  undisciplined,  because  back  of  that  child  is 
invariably  an  undisciplined  home,  and  most  essential 
to  success  in  dealing  with  the  pupils  is  the  co-operation 
of  the  home.     But  then,  that  is  another  story. 

Q.  Given  an  indifferent  class  of  boisterous  children, 
parents  who  do  not  co-operate,  a  mere  two  hours  a  week 
to  develop  character,  teach  Biblical  History,  Hebrew 
and  ceremonies,  hold  assembly,  and  teach  Jewish  songs, 
is  not  a  rabbi  in  difficulty? 

A.  Indeed  he  is.  If  you  expect  to  go  into  the  min- 
istry and  have  an  easy  time  you  ought  to  resign  now. 
You  must  anticipate  difficulties.  The  object  of  these 
talks,  if  they  are  to  have  any  effect,  is  to  make  you  face 
the  difficulties  in  advance,  to  give  you  some  realization 
of  what  may  confront  you  when  you  enter  upon  your 
post,  and,  if  possible,  to  direct  you  as  to  how  you  may 
equip  yourselves  so  that  when  you  take  charge  of  a 
school  and  find  it  a  serious  undertaking,  you  will  not  be 
helpless  and  feel  that  you  must  surrender  in  despair. 
Our  object  is  to  proffer  you  such  guidance  as  you  may 
draw  from  the  experience  of  others  who  have  wrestled 


60  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

with  like  difficulties.  In  New  York  some  time  ago  I 
had  an  interesting  talk  with  Dr.  Benderly,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Jewish  Education.  I  said  to  him,  "The 
problem  of  the  congregational  Religious  School  is 
much  more  difficult  than  is  yours,  for  you  get  your  boys 
and  girls  daily  after  their  public  school  sessions,  gather 
them  into  groups,  hundreds  at  a  time,  and  teach  the 
Bible,  the  songs,  and  even  Hebrew  lessons  on  the  screen. 
We  must  individualize  our  pupils  and  teach  all  subjects 
within  but  two  hours  a  week."  He  pointed  out  to  me 
that  by  intensive  work  one  could  do  all  this,  and  he  said 
that  in  fact  it  could  be  done  even  more  thoroughly.  I 
took  this  to  heart  and  applied  it  to  my  school,  with  the 
result  that  every  minute  of  our  time  is  utilized  and  not 
a  moment  is  wasted.  The  work  is  planned  in  advance 
in  every  detail.  Every  teacher  knows  the  moment  the 
bell  strikes  what  is  to  be  done.  Though  the  fire-bell 
ring  for  practice  and  the  whole  school  be  dismissed,  yet 
the  school  resumes  perfect  order  again  the  moment  the 
children  are  back  in  their  rooms.  System  is  needed  as 
much  in  running  a  religious  school  as  in  any  business. 

Q.  The  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  very  unpopular 
among  children.  How  will  you  vitalize  it?  Everything 
in  modern  times  is  on  a  progressive  plane.  Do  you  not 
think  that  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  in  the  Sunday 
school  should  follow  the  same  course?  How  is  it  to  be 
done? 

A.  The  religious  schools  of  all  denominations  have 
in  recent  years  made  notable  strides  in  improving  their 
methods.     The  Jewish  Chautauqua  Society  is  a  pioneer 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  61 

in  this  field.  The  Synagogue  and  School  Extension 
Department  of  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congre- 
gations is  rendering  a  service  utterly  neglected  in  the 
previous  generations.  The  Religious  Education  Asso- 
ciation of  the  United  States  has  stimulated  the  schools 
of  all  denominations.  The  Jewish  schools  are  probably 
abreast,  and  perhaps  ahead,  of  other  religious  schools 
in  this  country  in  the  application  of  the  principles  and 
methods  of  modern  pedagogy  to  religious  studies,  and 
especially  to  the  presentation  of  Bible  history.  Others 
are  but  now  following  us  in  working  out  the  curriculum 
of  graded  classes. 

It  is  quite  possible,  now,  to  make  Bible  study  inter- 
esting to  boys  and  girls.  Let  me  cite  a  few  examples. 
Manual  work  applied  to  Bible  instruction  is  a  new  and 
excellent  venture.  We  use  it  in  our  school  and  it  has 
been  exceedingly  effective.  Boys  and  girls  are  learning 
about  Bible  countries.  We  want  them  to  have  some 
visualized  conception  of  the  location  of  the  countries, 
the  rivers,  valleys,  cities,  and  towns  in  which  all  the 
things  we  teach  them  transpired.  We  ask  them  to 
make  maps.  They  make  elaborate  pen  and  ink  drawings, 
or  mould  them  of  papier-mache.  They  take  great 
delight  in  the  work,  which  is  optional.  When  tasks 
are  not  required  but  voluntary  it  is  wonderful  how  eager 
they  all  are  to  do  them.  The  writing  of  papers  on 
Biblical  subjects  is  also  effective  in  stimulating  interest. 
The  teacher  will  ask,  "Who  will  give  us  an  account  of 
the  life  of  Jeremiah,"  or  whatever  the  lesson  may  be? 
Pictures  are  given  to  the  pupils  to   illustrate   these 


62  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

papers.  To  write  a  story  based  on  the  pictures  is 
an  exercise  that  prevails  in  all  our  classes  from  the  pri- 
mary grades  up.  When  a  child  is  given  a  series  of 
pictures  and  told  to  write  a  story  it  is  a  practical  way 
of  vitalizing  instruction.  One  of  the  most  unfailing 
and  impressive  modes  of  vitalizing  Bible  study  with  us 
has  been  the  dramatization  of  Bible  stories.  One  day 
a  teacher  came  to  invite  me  to  her  class  and  said,  "I 
have  assigned  to  my  children  the  presentation  of  the 
story  of  the  Golden  Calf.  I  have  asked  them  to  read 
their  different  parts  from  their  Bibles.  One  is  to  be 
Moses,  one  Aaron,  and  a  group  is  to  represent  the 
Israelites."  I  went  to  the  classroom  and  listened  to 
the  children.  They  were  full  of  interest  and  enthu- 
siasm. They  read  their  story  from  the  Bible  and 
enacted  the  different  parts  with  a  keen  and  unwonted 
delight.  It  all  became  real  to  them.  This  spurred  to 
ambition  in  other  classes  with  the  result  that  during  a 
number  of  years  past  a  fine  spirit  of  emulation  has 
developed  among  them  and  a  really  excellent  series  of 
Bible  stories,  dramatized  and  rendered  by  the  pupils 
with  appropriate  scenery  and  costumes,  now  solves  the 
problem  of  our  school  festival  and  other  programs. 
The  interest  in  Bible  study  has  been  at  fever  heat  as 
the  result  of  this  practical  method.  Seizing  upon  the 
dramatic  instinct  so  keen  in  youth  and  applying  it  thus 
redeems  Bible  study  from  dullness  and  the  sense  of 
remoteness,  making  it  real  and  vital  to  the  pupils. 

0.     Why  do  Sabbath  schools  give  such  prominence 
to  the  chronology  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah? 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  63 

Would  it  not  be  advisable  to  substitute  lessons  from 
the  lives  of  the  rabbis,  Jewish  heroes,  and  saints? 

A.  I  regret  to  learn  that  some  of  our  schools  still 
stuff  the  children  with  lists  of  kings  and  their  dates. 
Bear  in  mind  that  we  have  two  distinct  disciplines  under 
consideration,  viz.,  Jewish  History  and  Jewish  Ethics. 
Both  are  essential  factors  of  that  education  we  are  striv- 
ing to  impart.  Both  utilize  the  same  materials,  i.  e. 
the  story  of  Israel's  life  from  the  earliest  records  to  the 
present.  To  give  a  succinct  and  intelligent  idea  of  that 
marvelous  story,  the  events  and  the  lives  of  our  leaders 
must  be  offered  in  some  coherent  or  chronological  order. 
But  few  dates  are  essential.  It  is  a  gross  injustice  to 
the  subjects  as  well  as  to  the  student  to  give  mere 
fragments  or  to  stop  short  with  the  Biblical  record. 
The  tremendous  force  is  thereby  lost  which  inheres  in 
tracing  the  unfoldment  of  a  mighty  tradition  and  the 
realization  on  the  part  of  the  student  that,  as  heirs  of 
that  tradition,  we  are  carrying  forward  the  latest  phases 
of  the  longest  continuous  and  most  heroic  history  of  any 
people  on  earth. 

Vital  as  is  the  realization  hereof  to  the  quickening  of 
the  Jewish  consciousness,  even  more  vital  is  the  use  of 
our  history  as  a  living  illustration  of  the  divine  principles 
of  morality  in  action,  of  a  conscious  religious  motive  in 
forming  and  inspiring  our  historic  movement  from  its 
inception,  through  many  deviations  and  defections, 
unwaveringly  from  the  first  on  into  the  present.  As  a 
history  of  endurance  for  principle,  of  heroic  suffering,  of 
unflinching  steadfastness  in  the  face  of  a  hostile  world, 
as  a  constructive  force,  today  as  of  old,  in  furthering 


64  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

the  cause  of  humanity,  the  facts  of  our  history  are  of 
supreme  significance  and  value.  It  must  be  apparent 
that,  for  the  purpose  of  our  religious  school,  Jewish 
history  must  be  presented  primarily  as  illustrative 
matter,  because  it  shows  Judaism  in  action.  It  reveals 
the  glowing  inspirations  of  our  religion  as  impelling  the 
great  leaders,  patriarchs,  lawgivers,  prophets,  and 
sages,  and  directing  the  destinies  of  their  followers. 
The  Bible  as  history  has  its  place  in  the  more  advanced 
stages  of  the  curriculum.  For  moral  instruction  we 
should  use  biographical  material  and  selected  events, 
while  for  historical  perspective  we  should  present  a 
survey  or  chronological  summary  in  the  highest  classes. 

0.    What  about  the  miracles? 

A.  Educators  agree  that  in  all  the  world's  literature 
nothing  exceeds  the  simple  beauty  and  naive  charm  of 
the  wonder  stories  of  the  Bible  for  impressing  the  soul 
of  the  child.  That  period  of  life  in  which  the  hunger 
of  fancy  clamors  to  be  fed  with  the  marvelous,  the 
strange,  the  miraculous,  and  the  supernatural  speedily 
passes.  Reason  begins  to  outgrow  imagination.  Con- 
viction aspires  to  the  throne  where  till  now  credulity  had 
held  unrivaled  rule.  Nature  thus  admonishes  the 
teacher  in  terms  demanding  implicit  obedience  that  the 
inquiries  awakening  in  the  reflective  mind  of  youth  dare 
not  be  ignored,  glossed  over,  or  evaded.  They  must 
be  met  with  the  candor  of  transparent  honesty.  It 
must  be  made  clear  that  religion  rests  in  the  heart  of 
an  all-encircling  world  of  mystery.  We  must  confess 
to  the  vast  ignorance  that  engulfs  us  and  show  how  the 
earliest  reactions  to  the  mysterious  awaken  the  awe  of 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  65 

credulity  in  the  childhood  of  the  race  as  in  the  childhood 
of  each  individual.  A  miracle  is  therefore  the  natural 
response  to  the  unknown  and  the  inscrutable.  When 
reason  awakes  we  react  to  mystery  in  a  totally  different 
way.  We  begin  to  question,  to  investigate,  to  make 
researches,  eager  to  pluck  out  the  heart  of  the  mystery 
of  which  we  are  a  part.  In  response  to  this  effort  there 
have  come  to  men  revelations  of  laws,  of  truths,  of 
ideals  that  give  us  our  glimpses  of  the  divine.  What  is 
essential  in  our  teaching  is  this:  to  hold  fast  to  the 
sense  of  humility,  of  awe,  of  moral  constraint,  of  rever- 
ence. Not  how  the  ten  commandments  were  given  to 
us  is  vital,  but  that  they  were  given.  In  the  depths  of 
each  supernatural  event  lies  the  natural.  The  sanctions 
of  morality  and  the  inspirations  to  worship  are  intrinsic. 
Thus,  step  by  step,  stage  by  stage,  must  we  follow  the 
unfolding  demands  of  youth  and  maturity  in  presenting 
the  undying  truths  of  religion. 

0«  In  your  high  school  curriculum  do  you  include 
the  modern  interpretation  of  the  Bible? 

A.  Certainly.  High  school  and  college  students 
are  familiarized  with  the  results  of  modern  researches 
in  reference  to  the  text  and  authorship  of  the  writings 
of  Homer  and  Shakespeare.  It  is  due  them  likewise  to 
have  an  intelligent  insight  into  what  has  been  learned 
from  a  critical  study  of  the  Bible  texts,  from  the 
deciphering  of  monuments,  and  from  the  absorbing 
story  of  the  modern  excavations  in  Bible  lands  that 
shed  light  upon  the  Scriptures.  As  it  is  necessary  to  be 
on  guard  lest  in  the  one  case  the  real  treasures  of  Homer 
and  Shakespeare  be  buried  under  the  mountains  of 


66  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

mere  textual  criticism,  so  too  there  is  danger  that  the 
moral  and  spiritual  treasures  of  sacred  writ  may  be 
obscured  by  the  over-emphasis  of  these  externals  and 
the  of  times  ephemeral  theories  of  higher  criticism. 

Let  us  never  forget  that  our  aim  throughout  must  be 
to  provide  nurture  for  the  young  mind  and  strength  for 
the  needs  of  the  soul.  The  Bible  is  to  serve  us  not  so  much 
for  literary  or  even  historical  purposes  as  for  religious 
uses,  for  it  is  still  the  world's  best  text-book  of  religion. 
But  it  must  be  used  with  intelligent  discrimination. 
That  which  will  best  serve  the  child  must  be  given  to 
the  child,  and  that  which  is  best  for  the  matured  must 
be  reserved  for  the  ripened  mind. 

0»  Do  you  consider  it  essential  to  teach  Hebrew  in 
our  Sabbath  schools? 

A.  I  believe  it  is  highly  essential  to  teach  Hebrew  in 
our  schools.  I  know  and  regret  all  the  difficulties 
which,  because  of  the  limitations  of  time,  beset  the  task 
and  make  it  so  discouraging.  Yet  I  believe  we  should 
hold  on  to  and  make  the  utmost  of  the  opportunities 
we  have  and  use  every  endeavor  to  improve  them. 
Why?  Because  Hebrew  is  the  language  in  which  our 
religion  has  found  its  highest  expression.  It  has  been 
for  centuries  not  only  the  literary  language  of  the  Jew, 
of  the  Bible  and  all  the  vast  intellectual  products  of  the 
Bible,  but  it  is  the  language  of  our  worship  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  and  has  been  for  generations.  To  abandon 
it,  it  appears  to  me,  would  be  to  sacrifice  elements  of 
spiritual  value  which  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
replace.  I  am  not  thinking  so  much  of  the  intellectual 
side  of  what  the  pupil  may  get  out  of  a  knowledge  of 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  67 

Hebrew.  This  has  a  great  value  indeed.  The  girls 
and  boys  learn  Greek,  Latin,  French,  German,  and 
other  foreign  languages.  We  should  be  the  last,  it 
seems  to  me,  to  underestimate  the  cultural  advantage  of 
our  own  great  language.  But  I  would  emphasize  rather 
the  psychical  aspect  of  this  subject.  There  is  assuredly 
a  definite  moral  compulsion  on  us  to  teach  Hebrew  as 
long  as  we  continue  to  have  a  word  of  Hebrew  uttered 
in  public  or  private  worship  by  the  Jew.  We  must 
educate  our  congregations  at  least  to  so  much  knowledge 
of  Hebrew  as  will  enable  them  to  participate  intelli- 
gently in  the  worship.  Consciously  or  unconsciously 
they  realize  that  to  omit  this  would  be  to  do  violence  to 
their  inmost  beings.  It  would  mean  to  rend  that  subtle 
but  no  less  real  bond  that  binds  all  Jews,  soul  to  soul. 
Thus  it  is  quite  impossible,  it  appears  to  me,  to  convey 
in  English  all  the  profound  emotional  value  that  lies  in 
the  pronouncement  of  the  "Sh'ma,"  which  is  vibrant 
with  the  outcries  and  sanctified  by  the  sublime  stead- 
fastness of  the  heroes,  martyrs,  and  saints  of  Israel. 
The  Catholic  church  is  altogether  too  astute  to  throw 
aside  Latin,  and  the  Jewish  church  would  be  stultifying 
itself  by  throwing  aside  so  precious  a  spiritual  treasure 
as  we  have  in  the  Hebrew  language. 

Q.  Discuss  the  methods  of  teaching  Hebrew  to 
children.  How  do  you  make  the  subject  interesting? 
What  is  the  value  of  giving  the  children  a  smattering  of 
Hebrew  knowledge? 

A.  I  will  endeavor  to  answer  these  questions  by 
giving  you  the  testimony  of  an  interesting  experience. 
At  a  parents'  meeting  held  a  few  years  ago  in  my  school, 


68  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Dr.  Talcot  Williams,  then  of  Philadelphia,  now  head  of 
the  Pulitzer  School  of  Journalism  at  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, was  invited  to  give  an  address.  Dr.  Williams, 
who  spent  many  years  in  the  Orient,  is  a  fine  Hebrew 
and  Arabic  scholar.  He  expressed  interest  in  all  the 
Hebrew  instruction  imparted  to  our  pupils.  I  took 
him  from  class  to  class.  In  the  primary  grades,  ages 
seven  to  nine  years,  the  children  are  taught  to  memorize 
the  Sh'ma  and  some  of  the  simple  benedictions.  In  the 
intermediate  grades,  from  nine  to  twelve  years,  the 
excellent  little  books,  Numbers  I  and  II,  arranged  by 
Dr.  Benderly,  of  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Education, 
are  used.  Object  lessons,  pictures,  and  the  use  of  the 
most  modern  and  approved  methods  of  language  study 
have  vanquished  the  listlessness  and  irksomeness  of 
other  days.  Under  enthusiastic  teachers,  trained  in 
our  own  school,  a  splendid  spirit  of  emulation  has  been 
created.  In  the  Junior  classes,  twelve  to  fourteen  years, 
we  use  the  Jewish  Chautauqua  Course  book  as  an  intro- 
duction to  the  Union  Prayer  Book.  In  the  senior 
department,  i.  e.  the  pre-confirmation  and  confirmation 
classes,  the  Prayer  Book  is  the  text-book  both  for 
Hebrew  and  religious  instruction.  Pupils  from  this 
department  volunteer  to  prepare  to  read  and  translate 
short  portions  from  the  Torah  section  the  first  week  of 
each  month,  when  we  have  the  children  attend  the 
synagogue  and  participate  in  the  service. 

In  each  classroom,  Dr.  Williams  found  hanging  upon 
the  walls  the  exercises  in  Hebrew  prepared  throughout 
the  year  by  the  pupils.     To   these  he  gave  special 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  69 

attention  and  to  my  delight  he  devoted  his  talk  to 
the  parents  in  the  Assembly  Hall,  to  an  enthusiastic 
approval  of  the  work  and  to  an  impressive  exposition  of 
the  value  especially  to  Jewish  people,  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  sacred  tongue.  I  recall  his  developing  the  thought 
of  the  precept,  "The  more  languages  a  man  knows,  the 
more  of  a  man  is  he."  He  illustrated  how  even  a  slight 
knowledge  of  a  strange  tongue  enriches  our  mental 
grasp  and  how  even  a  single  foreign  word  opens  a 
window  through  which  we  are  permitted  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  new,  interesting,  and  enlarged  horizons. 

Our  main  trouble  with  Hebrew  now  is  lack  of  time, 
not  of  interest.  Hebrew  is  obligatory.  To  make  it 
optional  creates  difficulties  that  are  fatal.  We  cannot 
get  all  pupils  to  respond,  and  we  fail  totally  with  some. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  have  been  able  to  get  a  group  to 
continue  advanced  Hebrew  in  our  High  School  Course. 

Q.  Are  more  than  two  sessions  a  week  for  the 
religious  school  desirable  or  practicable? 

A.  At  the  present  time  religious  schools,  as  we  know 
them,  in  connection  with  congregations  are  obliged  to 
utilize  the  crumbs  of  time  and  opportunity  which  are 
left  at  the  end  of  the  week,  after  the  pupil  has  been 
absorbed  throughout  the  week  days,  as  far  as  energy 
goes,  in  devoting  himself  to  secular  studies.  It  is  this 
limitation  of  time  which  prompted  the  suggestion  that 
we  extend  the  number  of  years  in  the  school  term  at  the 
school  over  which  I  preside.  From  six  we  have 
advanced  to  a  nine  year  course.  This  is  required  to 
prepare  for  Confirmation.  Then  the  pupil  is  about 
16  years  of  age.     At  best  this  affords  only  a  grammar 


70  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

school  grade  of  instruction  in  religion.  Therefore, 
opportunity  is  provided  to  continue  the  studies  three 
years  more,  covering  a  high  school  course  of  which  the 
confirmation  class  is  the  first  year.  This  keeps  us  in 
touch  with  our  pupils  until  they  are  about  19  years  of 
age.  Opportunity  is  further  provided  for  such  as  we 
can  interest  to  engage  in  individual  work,  in  study  clubs 
and  circles.  By  this  means  we  are  aiming  to  equip  those 
who  are  capable,  for  teaching  in  our  school  and  for  active 
social  service  work.  No!  Two  hours  a  week  between 
the  ages  of  seven  and  thirteen  is  not  enough  to  cover  the 
whole  range  of  Jewish  history,  ethics,  and  religion. 
Therefore  all  this  effort  to  extend  the  studies  throughout 
youth  and  adult  life  according  to  the  old  Jewish  usage. 

0.     Is  the  Jewish  Day  School  desirable? 

A.  As  a  boy,  I  attended  a  Jewish  parochial  or  day 
school.  I  felt  much  resentment  that  at  four  o'clock  every 
day  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  Hebrew  school  when  I  should 
have  been  out  playing  ball.  When  I  entered  the  ministry 
I  vowed  that  I  would  break  up  every  school  of  that  kind, 
wherever  possible,  in  the  interests  of  the  children.  I  am 
happy  to  say  that  I  have  been  instrumental  in  doing 
this  in  several  places.  The  Gary  system,  now  so  much 
discussed,  as  I  understand  it,  aims  to  loosen  up  the 
public  school  system  in  order  to  make  it  flexible  in  such 
a  way  as  to  include  every  activity  of  the  child  as  part 
of  his  legitimate  education.  That  which  he  does  on  the 
playground  is  not  less  important  than  that  which  he 
does  in  the  class  and  assembly  room,  or  in  the  laboratory 
or  in  his  home  tasks.  If  this  plan  can  be  worked  out, 
the  religious  school  may  come  into  its  rights,  and  we 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  71 

shall  be  able  to  secure  some  sort  of  legitimate  oppor- 
tunity for  imparting  to  our  pupils  the  knowledge  which 
we  desire  them  to  have  and  the  influence  and  impres- 
sions we  desire  to  bring  to  bear  upon  them  in  their 
religious  life. 

Q.  Discuss  the  problem  of  Sabbath  School  equip- 
ment. 

A.  If  I  may  be  permitted  to  make  a  personal  refer- 
ence without  violating  the  proprieties,  I  would  like  to 
say  that  this  and  kindred  questions  are  answered  in 
detail  in  "The  New  Education  in  Religion,"  a  book  in 
which  I  have  worked  out  a  curriculum  which  is  the 
basis  for  the  course  books  of  the  Correspondence  School 
for  Teachers  conducted  by  the  Jewish  Chautauqua 
Society.  In  regard  to  the  problem  of  Sabbath  School 
equipment,  note  that  in  the  office  of  the  Department 
of  Synagogue  and  School  Extension  of  the  Union  of 
American  Hebrew  Congregations,  there  is  an  exhibit  of 
all  kinds  of  materials  and  devices  for  the  equipment  of 
religious  schools,  such  as  maps,  ceremonial  objects, 
books,  desks,  stereopticon  views,  wall  pictures,  etc. 
Everything  that  will  help  the  teacher  to  do  intensive 
work  in  the  two  hours  session  of  the  school  should  be 
utilized  in  all  up-to-date  schools. 

Q.  How  can  one  overcome  the  religious  indifference 
of  parents  as  reflected  in  the  children? 

A.  This  is  a  problem  which  has  long  agitated  the 
minds  of  our  rabbis  and  teachers.  It  has  been  the  theme 
of  many  discussions  at  conferences  and  assemblies. 
It  is  impossible  to  answer  it  in  an  off-hand  manner 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  problem  is  so  vast,  so 


72  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

complex,  so  far-reaching.  Many  are  the  methods 
that  have  been  tried,  and  are  being  tried,  to  endeavor 
to  overcome  the  difficulties  arising  out  of  the  indiffer- 
ence of  parents. 

There  is  a  retroactive  way  of  reaching  the  parents 
through  the  children.  It  is  not  always  effective,  but 
has  been  quite  successful  in  many  cases.  The  religious 
school  sends  the  child  home  inspired  with  enthusiasm 
for  the  Jewish  religion  and  eager  to  find  in  the  home  life 
some  expression  to  satisfy  that  need.  Dead  indeed  is 
that  parent  who  will  not  attempt  to  make  some  response 
to  the  requests  of  a  little  child.  I  will  illustrate  from  a 
recent  experience.  The  week  before  Pesach,  in  the 
school  over  which  I  preside,  we  had  a  large  gathering  of 
parents  who  were  attracted  by  what  promised  to  be  an 
entertaining  and  interesting  program.  The  object  of 
the  meeting  was  to  reintroduce  the  Seder  into  Jewish 
homes  where  this  home  service  had  fallen  into  disuse. 
The  method  of  making  the  appeal  was  quite  striking. 
By  way  of  introduction  I  spoke  quite  briefly  about  the 
origin  and  significance  of  the  Seder.  I  showed  them 
some  beautiful  copies  of  the  Haggadah  and  other  quaint 
prints  and  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  recreating  the 
ancient  and  medieval  form  of  observance  so  as  to  make 
it  acceptable  to  the  taste  and  understanding  of  the 
present  hour.  This  talk  was  followed  by  a  beautiful 
tableau  reproducing  Moritz  Oppenheim's  well-known 
painting  which  depicts  the  Seder.  To  serve  as  an  expla- 
nation of  the  tableau  there  was  a  translation  of  that 
portion  of  Heine's  story,  "The  Rabbi  of  Bacharach," 
which  describes  the  Seder.     This  was  followed  by  a 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  73 

practical  illustration  of  the  method  of  conducting  the 
Seder  in  modern  families.  Rabbi  Eli  Mayer  conducted 
it  with  members  of  the  family  around  the  table.  The 
symbols  of  the  festival  were  explained  in  answer  to  the 
questions  put  by  the  children.  They  sang  the  melodies 
that  are  sung  on  that  occasion.  Copies  of  the  words 
were  distributed  and  all  were  invited  to  join  in.  This 
worked  up  a  high  degree  of  interest  and  enthusiasm. 
The  result  was  that  we  had  many  calls  for  copies  of  the 
Haggadah  and  promises  to  resume  the  Seder  in  the 
home.  On  Hanukkah  we  gave  out  Menorahs  and 
candles.  What  parent  could  refuse  to  light  them  for 
the  child?  The  result  has  been  an  awakening  on  the 
part  of  the  parents,  who  have  gained  an  insight  into  the 
meaning  and  the  spiritual  value  of  these  observances 
and  of  the  dignity,  the  sweetness,  the  sanctity  imparted 
to  the  home  life  when  they  are  restored. 

Q.  How  can  the  co-operation  of  the  home  with  the 
religious  school  be  secured? 

A.  By  the  same  method  through  which  the  co-opera- 
tion of  parents  with  teachers  is  secured  in  other  schools. 
Opportunities  must  be  provided  for  the  parents  to  meet 
the  teachers  and  confer  in  a  friendly  way  about  the  child 
in  whose  training  they  share.  We  have  tried  a  large 
general  meeting  of  parents  and  also  meetings  of  the 
parents  of  the  pupils  of  each  class  separately.  With  them 
some  special  and  timely  subject  is  discussed,  such  as 
tardiness,  regularity  in  attendance,  home  work,  Hebrew, 
religion  in  the  home,  synagogue  attendance.  The  par- 
ents of  the  confirmants  usually  have  a  special  meeting 
to  discuss  the  proprieties   and   modes   of  procedure 


74  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

which  may  enhance  or  ruin  the  religious  value  of 
this  service.  A  frank  discussion  of  the  excesses  and 
evils  often  attendant  on  the  social  side  of  the  Confirma- 
tion celebration  should  be  held  at  these  meetings.  At 
such  a  meeting  recently  held  the  parents  decided  to 
mitigate  the  abuses  of  present-giving  by  breaking  up 
the  custom  which  had  crept  in  of  having  each  pupil  in 
the  class  send  a  gift  to  every  other  member  of  the  class. 
It  was  resolved  that  all  gifts  between  class  members, 
even  though  relatives  or  intimate  friends  be  eliminated. 
The  expensive  gift  to  the  rabbi,  creating  emulation  in 
successive  classes,  was  at  my  request  abolished  years 
ago.  Instead,  each  class  presents  to  the  Congregation, 
School  or  to  the  Library,  a  simple  token  in  the  spirit  in 
which  university  classes  plant  the  ivy  or,  by  some  gift, 
deepen  the  ties  of  devotion  to  their  beloved  Alma  Mater. 

An  exhibit  in  each  class-room  of  manual  work,  maps, 
essays,  Hebrew  exercises,  etc.,  is  exceedingly  helpful  in 
winning  the  interest  of  the  home.  School  reports  at 
intervals  are  of  service ;  better  still  a  personal  letter  from 
the  teacher  when  occasion  requires;  but  best  of  all  a 
visit  of  the  teacher  to  the  home  is  of  inestimable  value 
in  securing  that  direct  personal  co-operation  so  priceless 
to  the  good  effects  of  the  school  on  the  life  of  the  pupil. 
The  aid  of  the  visiting  committee  of  the  Sisterhood  is 
exceedingly  helpful  to  the  teacher,  the  stress  of  whose 
daily  tasks  affords  little  time  for  personal  visits. 

Q.  In  urging  adults  to  observe  Jewish  ceremonies, 
would  you  insist  that  they  observe  ceremonies  which 
for  them  have  lost  their  symbolic  value? 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  75 

A.  Certainly  not.  Unless  these  things  have  an 
appeal  that  is  real  and  genuine,  unless  you  can  make 
them  see  not  only  the  aesthetic  and  artistic,  but 
especially  the  moral  and  spiritual  force  of  these  symbols, 
the  symbols  are  dead.  That  is  why  we  have  been 
compelled  to  "reform."  Reform  means  to  alter, 
modify  or  recast  a  form  in  the  religious  life,  so  as  to 
make  it  accord  with  the  intelligence,  the  conviction, 
and  the  quickened  sentiment  of  the  person  who  per- 
forms the  religious  act. 

Q.  Would  you  sacrifice  your  congregational  school 
for  a  religious  school  supported  by  the  Jewish  com- 
munity at  large? 

A.  It  is  difficult  to  make  a  sweeping  reply  to  this 
inquiry  because  so  much  depends  upon  the  local 
conditions.  As  a  rule,  when  you  can  get  a  community 
to  engage  unitedly  in  Jewish  work,  you  will  do  well 
to  combine  efforts.  The  possibilities  for  such  combined 
efforts  are  fewer  in  the  larger  cities  than  in  the  smaller 
towns,  because  in  the  cities  the  people  continue 
longer  to  remain  isolated  and  strongly  segregated  into 
groups.  We  find  them  organized  according  to  the 
successive  tides  of  immigration  into  America:  the 
earliest  Sephardic  (Spanish-Portuguese),  the  Dutch, 
the  German,  the  Polish,  the  Russian,  the  Rumanian, 
and  the  more  recent  Oriental  Jewish  immigrants. 
Let  us  be  fair  and  realize  that  it  is  the  normal  preference 
of  people  of  like  antecedents,  habits,  customs,  and 
usages  to  get  together.  They  understand  each  other, 
they  sympathize  with  each  other,  and  therefore  they  can 
engage  in  all  social,  charitable,  educational  ,and  religious 


76  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

enterprises  much  more  satisfactorily  among  themselves 
than  with  others.  The  progress  of  co-operation  is  slow 
because  the  conflict  of  jarring  view-points  is  inevitable. 
The  attitude  of  the  older,  more  experienced,  and  more 
firmly  settled  towards  the  newer  immigrant,  however 
well  meant,  is  often  misunderstood,  suspected  and 
resented.  Under  these  conditions,  the  surrender  of  a 
well-organized  school  would  be  hazardous. 

The  unexpected  is  happening  before  our  eyes, 
however.  The  slow  processes  of  attrition  are  being 
accelerated  by  the  war  and  its  associations  as  by  no 
previous  experience.  The  various  elements  of  the 
Jewish  community  of  each  city  and  of  the  whole  country 
are  drawing  together,  as  never  before,  under  the  stress 
of  common  impulses  and  needs.  The  Jewish  War 
Relief  and  kindred  movements  are  bound  to  react 
favorably  towards  a  closer  co-operation  in  all  Jewish 
communal  endeavors  in  the  future. 

The  different  groups  hitherto  entirely  self-centered, 
are  coming  into  closer  relationship  with  one  another. 
Each  congregation,  heretofore  interested  in  itself  alone, 
is  learning  to  co-operate  with  its  sisters.  The  Jewish 
children  in  Philadelphia  unaffiliated  with  congrega- 
tional life  are  under  the  care  of  the  Hebrew  Sunday 
School  founded  by  Rebecca  Gratz.  There  are  now 
twelve  branch  schools  and  some  five  thousand  pupils. 
Similar  communal  schools  are  sure  to  spring  up  every- 
where in  the  future  and  will  merit  your  help. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  Bible  should  be  the  only  text- 
book in  the  religious  school?  Do  you  think  that  our 
religious  schools  should  be  only  Bible  schools? 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  77 

A.  I  think  that,  fundamentally,  they  should  be 
Bible  Schools,  but  remember  that  the  Bible  is  the 
inspiration  for  all  our  life  and  literature.  Talmud 
Torah  is  our  broad  term  for  education. 

Q.  Do  you  favor  efforts  to  conduct  social  service 
activities?  I  would  like  to  suggest  that  the  idea  of  the 
social  service  consciousness  should  be,  not  something 
that  can  be  read  between  the  lines,  but  a  part  of  the 
fundamental  purpose  of  the  religious  education  and 
should  be  carried  out  in  practical  social  service  activities. 
Do  you  not  think  so? 

A.  Yes,  I  am  in  hearty  accord  with  this  very 
suggestion.  In  my  own  school  it  is  done.  Every  class 
has  a  fund  and  these  funds  are  contributed  for  social 
work  of  a  definite  kind.  For  instance,  one  class 
recently  voted  to  send  a  pair  of  crutches  to  a  boy, 
another  voted  to  send  a  boy  to  a  summer  camp. 
Children  are  readily  and  eagerly  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  other  children,  once  they  realize  the  need  which 
contrasts  with  their  own  condition  of  life. 

Q.  Should  there  be  a  place  for  either  Anti-Zionism, 
Non-Zionism  or  Zionism  in  the  religious  schools? 

A.  This  is  a  new  issue.  In  my  school  there  is  a  free 
discussion,  in  confirmation,  post  confirmation,  and  adult 
classes,  of  all  living  issues  of  Jewish  life.  We  insist  that  our 
pupils  should  learn  about  Orthodoxy  as  well  as  Reform, 
and  in  the  same  spirit  Zionism  is  fully  considered. 

0«  You  seem  to  consider  the  fundamental  purpose 
of  Jewish  education  to  be  instruction  in  ideals  of 
reverence,    awe,    and    humility.     You    spoke    at    the 


78  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

beginning  of  your  address  about  consciousness.  Do  you 
mean  to  implant  the  moral  consciousness,  the  ethical 
consciousness,  or  the  religious  consciousness  through 
the  school? 

A.     The  Jewish  consciousness. 

Q.  It  seems  to  me  that  what  is  necessary  in  the 
reform  religious  school  is  not  merely  the  teaching  of 
these  principles  but  the  development  of  the  idea  of 
brotherhood  among  Jews  to  give  boys  and  girls  a  feeling 
of  fellowship  towards  all  types  of  Jews.  Where  you  have 
boys  and  girls  who  are  afflicted  with  the  desire  to  be 
anything  else  but  Jews,  is  it  not  important  to  give  them 
not  only  the  religious  consciousness  but  also  the  group 
consciousness? 

A.  The  one  is  involved  in  the  other.  Thus  when 
you  teach  the  child  about  the  Passover,  you  must 
convey  the  sublime  principle  of  freedom  and  when  you 
keep  the  Passover  observances  in  the  home  and  in  the 
Synagogue,  the  sentiment  of  fellowship  with  all  Jews 
is  necessarily  imparted. 

Q.  May  I  ask  how  you  account  for  the  fact  that 
religious  education  among  the  Jews  at  the  present  time 
does  not  seem  to  appeal  to  the  children  or  to  the 
parents?  Our  religious  schools  do  not  seem  to  be  taken 
as  seriously  as  they  ought  to  be.  Is  this  due  to  the 
parent  or  to  something  lacking  in  the  rabbi  and 
teacher? 

A.  This  is  a  very  difficult  question.  It  is  not 
limited  to  Jewish  people.  I  think  that  Jewish  people 
do  show  their  love  for  education.     Our  schools  and 


THE  RABBI  AS  TEACHER  79 

colleges  are  crowded  with  Jewish  pupils  in  a  percentage 
perhaps  exceeding  their  due  proportion.  When  it 
comes  to  religious  education  they  seem  to  be  lacking. 
The  general  answer  is  that  we  are  living  in  a  material- 
istic age.  This  is  an  era  of  readjustment  for  multitudes 
who  have  swarmed  into  America.  They  have  been 
compelled  to  make  readjustments  in  their  pursuits,  in 
their  language,  and  in  their  view-points.  Such  a 
revolutionary  change  in  life  is  bound  to  affect  their 
religious  attitude.  But  the  readjustment  is  beginning 
to  stabilize  their  religious  life  also.  A  few  years  ago  a 
census  was  made  of  the  congregation  over  which  I 
preside,  of  the  families,  including  the  children  therein, 
and  a  comparison  was  made  with  the  enrollment  of  the 
school.  This  was  preliminary  to  a  vigorous  campaign 
to  secure  the  attendance  of  the  children.  I  am  able  to 
report  that  the  number  of  parents  who  do  not  send  their 
children  to  the  school  is  now  almost  negligible. 


Ill 

THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER 

Nearly  one  hundred  years  have  elapsed  since  Leopold 
Zunz  produced  his  epoch-making  work,  "Die  Gottes- 
dienstlichen  Vortraege  der  Juden."  Under  the  light  of 
his  brilliant  and  searching  scholarship,  the  place  of  the 
public  discourse  in  the  synagogue  was  definitely  deter- 
mined, and  its  history  and  development  from  the  earliest 
times  clearly  traced.  Zunz  was  impelled  to  these 
researches  in  order  to  refute  the  empty  charge  that  the 
sermon  in  the  synagogue  was  an  innovation,  indeed  an 
imitation  of  the  custom  of  the  church  ('Hukath  Hago- 
yim).  In  subsequent  studies  Jacob  Freudenthal 
revealed  the  very  contrary  as  the  fact,  viz.,  that  the 
church  from  earliest  times  had  been  largely  dependent 
on  the  example  and  inspiration  of  the  synagogue. 

The  two  streams  of  literary  activity  which  in  the 
Jewish  schools  yielded  the  Halacha  and  the  Haggadah, 
found  their  place  in  the  Synagogue  through  the  voice 
of  the  Meturgeman  who  expounded  the  weekly  lesson 
of  the  Torah  (Pentateuch)  and  the  Haftarah  (Prophets) ; 
and  the  Darshan  who,  with  glowing  imagination, 
through  the  wealth  of  the  Midrashic  parables  and 
homilies,  applied  the  moral  and  religious  lesson  to  the 
life  of  the  people. 

"The  one  indigenous  science  which  Israel  has  created 
and  developed,  after  having  produced,  during  the  first 


82  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

long  period  of  its  history,  the  actual  subject  of  the 
science,  the  Bible  itself,  was  the  science  of  exegesis," 
says  Wilhelm  Bacher  (Jewish  Encyc,  article  "Bible 
Exegesis").  And  he  adds,  "Modern  Judaism  is 
especially  characterized  by  two  reforms  founded  on  the 
study  and  exposition  of  the  Bible,  viz.  the  reinstate- 
ment of  the  Bible  in  its  legitimate  place  in  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  young,  where  it  had  long  been  secondary  to 
the  study  of  the  Talmud,  and  the  sermon  in  the  Syna- 
gogue, based  as  it  is  on  the  Biblical  text." 

Teaching  is  the  basis  of  all  preaching,  and  all  that  has 
been  said  of  the  rabbi  as  teacher  in  the  school  has  added 
importance  with  reference  to  the  rabbi  as  preacher  in 
the  pulpit.  The  function  of  the  rabbi  as  preacher  looms 
so  large  today  that  we  would  do  well  to  remember  that 
we  are  participating  in  a  reaction  against  the  era  which 
crowded  out  the  sermon  altogether  to  make  way  for  a 
form  of  worship  that  overflowed  with  repetitions  and 
redundancies  and  was  clogged  with  numerous  Piyuttim, 
or  liturgical  poems.  We  are  now  in  danger  of  making 
the  worship  of  such  minor  importance  as  to  reduce  it  to 
a  mere  routine.  The  people  feel  this  and  show  it  by 
the  prevailing  discourtesy  of  tardiness  which  lands 
them  in  their  seats  just  in  time  for  the  sermon  and  often 
prompts  their  withdrawal  immediately  after  its  delivery. 
In  no  small  measure  they  take  their  cue  from  the  pulpit, 
when  the  manner  of  conducting  the  service  is  slovenly 
and  perfunctory,  or  again  so  sanctimonious  or  declama- 
tory as  to  deaden  rather  than  quicken  the  sentiments  of 
reverence  and  devotion.  I  know  of  an  instance  when  a 
rabbi,  asked  to  read  services  on  a  public  occasion  on 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  83 

which  a  colleague  was  to  preach,  indignantly  refused, 
saying,  "I  will  not  play  'Hazan  to  him."  Apart  from 
its  unpardonable  discourtesy,  this  action  showed  a  most 
lamentable  and  low  estimate  of  the  honor,  the  dignity, 
and  the  sacred  importance  of  the  function  of  the  leader 
in  worship.  On  the  other  hand,  I  know  of  a  devout 
member  of  a  congregation  who  declared  that  just  to 
hear  a  Psalm  read  or  a  prayer  offered  prompted  her  to 
attend  the  services  of  a  certain  minister,  for  it  gave  her 
help  and  inspiration  for  the  whole  week.  The  fact  is 
that  it  is  a  far  more  difficult  task  to  conduct  public 
worship  effectively  than  to  deliver  a  public  discourse. 
I  maintain  this  to  be  true,  because  in  the  reading  of 
Scripture  and  in  rendering  the  liturgy  one  must  be 
entirely  oblivious  of  his  own  personality.  His  soul 
must  be  absorbed  in  and  become  a  part  of  the  soul  of 
Israel,  which  has  expressed  itself  in  utterances  sanctified 
by  generations  of  devout  emotion  and  in  them  revealed 
the  inmost  depths  of  its  yearnings,  its  trials  and 
triumphs,  its  sorrows  and  joys.  To  read  Scripture  with 
effect  demands  preparation.  No  less  so  is  it  necessary 
to  lend  impressiveness  to  liturgical  prayer,  that  one 
realize  its  full  meaning  and  enter  into  its  spirit.  A 
careful  study  of  the  Biblical  section  is  imperative  in 
order  that  the  historic  setting  and  aim  may  be  apparent, 
else  they  cannot  be  intelligently  conveyed.  One  cannot 
be  too  grateful  for  such  quickening  sources  as  the 
definitive  work  of  Professor  Ismar  Ellbogen,  "Der 
Juedische  Gottesdienst  in  seiner  geschichtlichen  Ent- 
wickelung,"  and  Dr.  Israel  Abraham's  "Annotations" 
to  the  Book  of  Prayers  with  English  translation,  by  Dr 


84  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Simeon  Singer,  which  have  come  to  reinforce  the  earlier 
studies  of  Louis  Dembitz  on  "Jewish  Services  in  the 
Synagogue  and  Home."  These  works  help  us  to  draw 
deep  draughts  of  inspiration  from  the  fountains  of  our 
noble  liturgy.  They  help  us  to  feel  the  pious  impulses 
that  have  moved  the  souls  of  the  devout  through  many 
generations. 

Personally  I  find  no  task  quite  so  trying  as  the  casual 
one  of  opening  a  public  meeting  with  prayer.  In  the 
midst  of  secular  interests,  commonplace  material 
concerns,  and  often  in  surroundings  which  are  barren 
of  all  that  is  conducive  to  the  earnestness  of  prayer,  it 
devolves  upon  the  minister,  called  often  without  a 
moment's  previous  notice,  to  create  an  atmosphere  of 
reverence  and  transform  the  whole  attitude  of  mind  and 
heart  of  the  people  to  one  of  worshipfulness.  In  the  syna- 
gogue at  least  the  associations  are  helpful,  and  indeed, 
when  the  service  is  genuinely  impressive  and  heartfelt,  the 
hearts  of  the  people  are  attuned  and  readily  responsive 
to  the  chords  which  the  sermon  will  strike.  I  have 
heard  a  layman  say  of  a  visiting  minister  that  the 
slovenliness  of  his  appearance,  of  his  bearing,  and  of  his 
listlessness  during  the  worship  had  so  provoked  him  in 
advance  that  he  was  prejudiced  against  the  sermon 
before  the  preacher  began  to  speak.  This  may  seem 
trifling,  but  it  becomes  important  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  every  real  sermon  is  a  revelation  of  one's  self. 
Therefore  nothing  is  insignificant  that  is  part  of  your- 
self; your  bearing,  is  it  reverential;  your  voice,  does  it 
ring  true;  your  manners,  are  they  mere  mannerisms; 
your  message,  does  it  resound  from  the  depths  of  your 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  85 

own  soul  or  is  it  a  mere  echo?  The  natural  tendency  to 
copy  other  speakers  is  fraught  with  a  singular  danger. 
While  imitation  is  the  highest  form  of  compliment,  the 
danger  of  paying  this  compliment  consists  in  repeating 
the  striking  peculiarities  and  eccentricities,  often  the 
faults  rather  than  the  virtues,  of  your  model.  "The 
great  man,"  says  Emerson,  "is  one  who  reminds  us  of 
no  other  man."  He  who  would  aspire  to  be  a  great 
preacher  must  before  all  else  be  himself,  just  his  plain 
natural  self,  without  poses  or  affectations. 

It  is  apparent,  then,  that  teaching  in  the  pulpit  is 
exalted  manifoldly  above  mere  teaching  in  the  class- 
room. "The  object  of  the  sermon,"  to  quote  Dr. 
Maybaum  (Juedische  Homiletik,  p.  2),  "is  not  merely 
Belehrung,  instruction,  but  also  Erbauung,  edification." 

The  "lecture"  in  the  pulpit  is  properly  directed  to 
conveying  information  and  deepening  knowledge.  The 
sermon,  however,  aims  at  something  more.  Through 
the  channel  of  the  intellect  the  hearer  is  to  be  persuaded 
and  convinced,  to  the  end  that  motives  become  purified, 
the  emotions  exalted,  the  conscience  quickened,  and  the 
will  consecrated.  To  the  factors  that  are  educational 
the  sermon  must  add  the  elements  that  are  inspirational. 

This  is  indeed  a  very  lofty  ideal,  and,  in  the  ordinary 
grind  of  preaching  week  after  week,  and  year  after  year, 
may  seem  in  its  elusiveness  but  rarely  attainable.  Let 
me,  by  way  of  testimony,  recommend  to  your  attention 
an  admirable  address,  "Why  the  Clergy  Fail,"  which  is 
to  be  found  among  the  published  sermons  of  that  genial 
London  minister,  the  Rev.  Simeon  Singer.  Speaking 
to  the  students  at  "Jews' College,"  in  his  delightful  and 


86  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

helpful  way,  he  makes  this  confession:  "Let  me  admit 
forthwith  that  it  is  in  the  very  nature  of  things  that 
any  man  occupying  the  position  of  a  minister  of  religion, 
I  care  not  who  he  is,  must  fail,  often  and  lamentably. 
The  character  and  magnitude  of  his  office  make  this  result 
inevitable.    For  myself,  I  marvel  at  my  own  temerity." 

It  was  this  very  characteristic  of  humility  that  made 
him  by  common  consent  the  most  vital,  effective,  and 
beloved  preacher  that  English  Jewry  has  known. 

The  practical  task  of  preparing  sermons  will  tax  your 
energies  as  a  rabbi  more  than  will  any  other  effort  you 
will  be  called  upon  to  make.  A  young  colleague  once 
wrote  me  in  a  despairing  tone,  asking,  "Where  in  the 
world  do  you  get  subjects  to  speak  on  week  after  week? 
I  am  at  the  end  of  my  string  and  do  not  know  what  to 
do."  I  cited  to  him  in  reply  my  own  kindred  exper- 
ience. After  I  had  met  the  exacting  demands  of  my 
first  four  weeks  in  the  pulpit,  sermons  for  the  eve  and 
morning  for  each  of  the  Sabbaths  and  holidays  of  the 
month  of  Tishri,  I  was  totally  exhausted.  I  felt  as 
though  I  had  told  the  people  well-nigh  all  I  had  learned 
while  at  college.  Where  should  I  find  topics  and 
materials  for  future  sermons?  I  confided  my  bewilder- 
ment to  a  friendly  local  clergyman  who  reassured  me 
from  his  own  experience  of  thirteen  years  that  with  each 
advancing  year  he  had  found  materials  multiplying  and 
topics  springing  up  on  every  side,  pleading,  as  it  were, 
to  be  selected.  I  have  since  verified  that  statement  by 
my  own  experiences,  and  venture  to  suggest  that  you 
cannot  begin  too  soon  to  train  your  minds  to  the  habit 
of  seeking  for  and  carefully  storing  up  notes  for  future 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  87 

sermons.  I  do  not  now  refer  merely  to  the  notes  of 
your  class-room  studies  and  readings,  both  at  the 
University  and  at  the  College.  Of  their  value  you  are 
fully  aware.  I  refer  to  the  personal  memoranda  of 
your  own  thoughts,  products  of  your  own  observations 
and  experiences,  your  own  difficulties  and  perplexities 
in  your  relations  with  others,  and  of  your  own  mental, 
moral,  and  spiritual  struggles.  They  may  be  very 
crude,  and  hereafter  you  may  smile  at  them  out  of  the 
maturer  experience  of  advancing  years.  But  they  will 
have  a  value  as  the  autobiography  of  your  own  soul, 
and  will  enable  you  to  enter  with  sympathy  and 
understanding  into  the  kindred  history  of  other  souls 
to  whom  you  are  to  give  the  counsel,  the  comfort,  and 
the  inspiration  of  your  sermon.  Said  one  old-time 
preacher,  "First  apply  yourself  to  the  text,  then  apply 
the  text  to  yourself."  One  preaches  to  himself  first, 
and  thereby  to  others.  Ideas  do  not  spring  up  spon- 
taneously. They  grow  and  you  must  tend  them  and 
nurture  them  as  a  gardener  his  flowers.  Then,  too, 
you  may  enjoy  the  divinest  exhilaration  that  can  be 
experienced,  the  flush  of  original  creative  effort. 

The  botanist  is  on  the  alert,  in  all  his  wanderings,  for 
new  specimens  of  the  earth's  teeming  plants.  The 
geologist  finds  a  revelation  of  nature  in  every  wayside 
stone  and  eagerly  collates  his  specimens.  The  preacher 
must  likewise  have  his  mind  directed,  in  all  he  sees,  and 
in  all  he  hears  and  reads,  to  search  out  the  hidden  veins 
of  moral  and  spiritual  truth  imbedded  in  all  of  life's 
experiences.  This  is  the  precious  ore  he  must  treasure 
up,  some  day  to  be  refined  into  the  pure  gold  of  sermonic 


88  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

materials.  It  is  marvelous,  as  has  often  been  noted,  how 
even  every  broken  and  discarded  fragment  stored  up  in 
the  attic  of  the  brain  some  day,  when  light  is  flashed 
upon  it,  reveals  undreamed-of  beauties  and  values. 
But  how  to  begin  on  your  sermon  preparation?  No 
two  men  are  alike,  and  so  too,  fortunately,  no  two 
preachers  are  alike.  Each  must  find  the  method  that 
is  best  for  himself.  Your  first  thought  at  the  beginning 
of  the  week  is  directed  to  the  Hebrew  Calendar.  There 
is  an  immediate  suggestion  in  the  title  of  the  Sabbath 
of  the  week.  It  directs  you  at  once  to  some  appropriate 
lesson  either  from  the  section  of  the  Torah  or  the 
Haftarah.  There  is  surely  some  lesson  there  on  which 
the  congregation  has  a  right  to  anticipate  elucidation. 
There  is  a  decided  advantage  in  following  the  cycle 
of  readings  and  the  order  of  the  recurring  festivals 
and  holy  days,  for  they  insure  a  renewal  and  deepening 
of  those  eternal  verities  of  our  faith  which  are  enshrined 
in  their  observance.  In  the  selection  of  some  appro- 
priate and  definite  theme  I  ask  myself,  "What  do  I  want 
to  teach  this  Sabbath?"  I  must  wish  to  teach  it.  I 
must  be  interested  myself  else  I  cannot  hope  to  interest 
others.  That  which  today  most  deeply  concerns  life 
must  concern  me.  Nothing  human  is  alien  to  the 
Jewish  pulpit.  Something  in  the  congregation,  in  the 
Jewish  community,  in  the  concerns  of  Israel  at  large, 
may  claim  and  hold  my  attention.  Or  it  may  be  a 
matter  of  general  public  welfare,  municipal,  state,  or 
national,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pulpit  to  clarify  by 
applying  the  eternal  standards  of  morals  and  religion. 
Since  the  war  I  have  heard  preachers  say,  "Oh,  it  is  so 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  89 

hard  to  preach  now,  harder  than  it  has  ever  been." 
People  declare  that  all  the  idealism  we  have  cherished 
has  been  sacrificed  and  that  "nothing  is  left  of  religion." 
For  my  part  I  believe  that  nothing  is  left  but  religion. 
We  have  seen  the  fiasco  of  materialism.  All  the 
vaunted  achievements  of  culture,  industry,  commerce, 
art,  economics,  and  science  have  been  perverted  to  the 
ends  of  destruction.  Religion  alone  maintains  its 
deathless  proclamation  that  not  by  might  nor  by  power, 
but  only  by  divine  principle  can  human  order  be 
restored  and  maintained.  It  is  inevitable  that  when  the 
appeal  to  force  shall  have  exhausted  itself,  the  real 
battle  of  principles  will  have  to  be  fought  out  with 
intellectual  and  spiritual  weapons. 

There  is  an  abundance,  not  a  dearth  of  themes  for 
sermons.  Thus  will  it  ever  be,  as  long  as  you  contrast 
man  as  he  is  with  man  as  he  ought  to  be ;  the  ideal  father, 
son,  brother,  friend,  neighbor,  and  citizen  with  the  real; 
or  the  ideal  woman  with  the  real;  the  ideal  home,  school, 
city,  state,  with  the  real;  the  human  family  as  it  is  with 
the  human  family  as  it  will  be  when  men  who  prate  of 
brotherhood  and  those  who  worship  God  as  Father  will 
realize,  indeed,  his  common  Fatherhood  to  all  His 
children. 

Once  you  have  chosen  the  specific  theme  to  which  you 
will  devote  your  discourse  for  the  week,  you  will  find 
how,  as  the  magnet  attracts  all  the  particles  of  metal 
that  lie  near  it,  your  thoughts  will  draw  from  memory, 
from  your  readings,  from  those  hidden  and  unsuspected 
treasures  buried  in  your  subconsciousness,  abundant 
stores  of  material.     Everything  that  will  occur  during 


90  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

the  week  will  seem  to  be  grist  for  your  mill.  Indeed  you 
will  have  to  learn  to  separate  the  grain  from  the  chaff. 
You  may  have  too  much  grain.  Be  sparing!  Some  of 
it  will  keep  for  another  day.  When  I  preached  my 
maiden  sermon  from  Dr.  Isaac  M.  Wise's  pulpit,  in 
Cincinnati,  he  favored  me  with  this  criticism:  "That 
was  no  sermon.  You  squandered  your  materials.  You 
had  matter  enough  for  three  discourses.  One  idea  is 
enough.  The  people  cannot  assimilate  more.  Illus- 
trate the  one  idea  from  different  points  of  view." 

Some  years  ago  I  exchanged  pulpits  with  a  New  York 
colleague  and  we  pledged  ourselves  in  advance  to  report 
on  the  impression  our  discourses  would  make,  his  on  my 
people  and  mine  on  his  people.  I  had  a  very  favorable 
report  to  send  him.  He  informed  me  that  the  most 
intelligent  man  in  his  congregation  had  made  the 
criticism  that  I  had  given  them  but  one  idea.  I 
rejoiced  that  after  years  of  drill  I  had  achieved  what 
Dr.  Wise  had  enjoined. 

Having  then  an  idea,  a  precept,  a  definite  message 
which  is  in  your  heart  and  which  yearns  to  find  adequate 
expression,  you  confront  the  problem  of  actual  prepara- 
tion. You  want  the  firm  foundation  of  a  biblical  text 
on  which  to  base  your  pronouncement  and  from  which 
to  evolve  its  deepest  spiritual  implications.  You  will 
rarely  search  in  vain,  either  in  the  weekly  Sidrah  from 
the  Torah,  or  in  the  lesson  of  the  Haftarah.  I  do  not 
underestimate  the  value  of  this,  the  oldest  system  of 
"International  Bible  Study"  known  to  the  world,  when 
I  admonish  you  that  if  the  text  is  not  forthcoming,  do 
not  use  a  text  as  a  mere  pretext,  a  point  of  departure,  to 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  91 

be  quoted  and  then  scorned.  The  assigned  section, 
which  may  be  made  up  of  mere  genealogies  or  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  details  of  the  Tabernacle,  may  fail  to  respond 
to  your  need.  If  so,  do  not  hesitate  to  look  elsewhere. 
Indeed,  often  where  no  special  theme  of  interest  offers 
itself,  I  go  at  once  to  the  other  parts  of  the  Bible  and 
never  do  its  inspired  pages  fail  to  extend  their  texts  like 
pleading  hands,  begging  to  be  taken.  It  remains  forever 
true  as  Ben  Bag  Bag  declared,  "Turn  it  and  turn  it  over 
again,  for  everything  is  in  it,  and  stir  not  from  it  for  thou 
canst  have  no  better  rule  than  this."  (Aboth  6:25.) 
Your  college  instruction  in  homiletics  provides  you 
with  the  technique  of  sermon  writing.  It  would, 
therefore,  be  a  work  of  supererogation  on  my  part  to 
enter  upon  that  phase  of  the  subject.  This  practical 
experience  I  may,  however,  be  permitted  to  offer.  In 
the  earliest  days  of  my  ministry  at  Mobile,  Alabama,  I 
was  privileged  to  go  to  New  Orleans  from  time  to  time 
especially  as  Secretary  of  the  Southern  Rabbinical 
Association,  of  which  Dr.  Gutheim  was  head  and  Rev. 
I.  L.  Leucht  a  moving  spirit.  The  sturdy  force  which 
had  made  Gutheim  a  hero  to  the  South  of  epidemic  and 
of  Civil  War  times,  and  the  volatile  enthusiasm  of 
Leucht,  both  influenced  me  mightily.  On  one  occasion 
in  his  study,  Leucht  took  from  his  shelf  the  latest 
homiletical  work  and  handing  it  to  me,  asked,  "Have 
you  read  Jellineck's  "Sh'ma  Yisroel  Sermons?"  I 
confessed  that  I  had  not,  and  what  was  more,  frankly 
declared  that  I  never  read  sermons.  Amazed  at  this 
confession,  he  inquired  into  the  cause  and  I  admitted 
that  it  was  because  I  feared  that  I  might  unconsciously 


92  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

plagiarize.  Then  he  read  me  a  lecture  I  have  never 
forgotten.  With  burning  indignation  he  remonstrated, 
"Artists  travel  to  remotest  lands  that  they  may  study  as 
models  the  works  of  the  world's  greatest  sculptors  and 
painters,  and  you  expect  to  preach  in  ignorance  of  the 
masterpieces  of  our  great  Jewish  preachers!"  This 
wholesome  rebuke  served  to  set  me  right. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  remarkable  funeral  of 
Dr.  Gutheim,  in  which  the  whole  Southland  united  in  a 
most  extraordinary  tribute  in  honor  of  a  rabbi,  that  the 
much  mooted  question  of  the  memorized  or  extempore 
address  was  decided  for  me.  The  most  eminent  divine 
of  the  southern  metropolis  was  a  Rev.  Palmer,  popu- 
larly known  as  "the  Beecher  of  the  South."  He  pro- 
nounced a  eulogy  which  took  not  more  than  fifteen 
minutes  for  its  delivery,  but  which  was  a  classic  in  its 
style.  Its  gems  of  thought,  radiant  with  the  light  of 
beauty,  were  set  in  a  coronet  of  rich  sentiment,  and  the 
encircling  band  bore  the  trenchant  words  that  became 
the  inscription  on  the  tomb  of  the  dead:  "He  was  a 
man  to  be  found  when  wanted,  and  when  found,  to  be 
trusted." 

I  learned  from  Dr.  Palmer  that  he  had  spent  one  hour 
pacing  his  study  prior  to  the  funeral  and  had  formulated 
in  his  mind  the  address  he  gave  with  such  masterly 
eloquence.  I  learned  from  him  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  extempore  speaking.  All  preaching  must  be 
prepared.  Your  choice  is  between  a  discourse  that  is 
thought  out  but  not  committed  to  writing  and  one  that 
is  written  out  and  committed  to  memory.  To  write 
out  carefully  and  painstakingly  to  memorize  is  slavish 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  93 

toil.     I  endured  it  for  five  years  before  I  ventured  on  my 
first  timid  effort  to  speak  without  written  preparation. 
There  is  no  way  to  evade  a  like  drill  if  you  would  strive 
for  accuracy  in  the  use  of  words,  for  the  cultivation  of 
a  direct  and  individual  style,  and  for  guarding  against 
the  unpardonable  sin  of  preaching  the  long  sermon  that 
wearies  and  so  defeats  its  own  purpose.     However,  the 
memorized  sermon  is  never  so  effective  and  powerful  as 
the  unwritten  sermon.     The  manuscript,  even  though 
hidden,  somehow   will  not  remain  entirely  concealed, 
but  obtrudes  itself,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  between 
the  speaker  and  the  hearer.  The  written  discourse  makes 
for  definiteness  of  statement,  avoidance  of  repetition, 
and  wandering  from  the  theme,  but  it  lacks  in  spontaneity 
and  warmth.  It  is  best  for  the  academic  scholarly  address, 
but  for  the  pulpit  that  aims  to  be  illuminating  and 
inspirational  the  mechanics  of  a  memorized  set  form 
of  words  is  rarely  effective.     It  may  takes  years  of 
practice  to  conquer  this  difficulty. 

Both  kinds  of  discourse  must  be  carefully  thought  out 
in  the  quiet  of  the  study  where  reasoning  and  reflection 
are  at  their  best.  The  unwritten  discourse  has  the 
unquestioned  advantage  that  it  responds  to  the 
inspiration  that  flows  from  the  hearts  of  the  hearers. 
The  speaker  is  free  to  suit  the  words  to  the  inspiration  of 
the  moment.  Holding  fast  to  the  reflective  or  prepared 
side  of  the  discourse,  the  speaker  is  free,  not  alone  to 
choose  his  words  (and  he  must  have  the  words  at  ready 
command)  but  what  is  of  even  more  importance,  he  is 
free  to  let  fancy  soar  and  give  imagination  full  play. 
These  faculties  are  dormant  in  the  dullness  of  the  study, 


94  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

while  under  the  excitations  of  public  speech  they  throb 
with  life.  But  the  imagination,  too,  must  be  trained. 
Every  statement  should  be  illustrated.  Illustrations 
are  the  windows  of  the  mind.  Beecher,  in  his  famous 
"Lectures  on  Preaching,"  declared  that  "a  sermon  with- 
out illustrations  is  like  a  building  without  windows." 
You  may  draw  your  illustrations  from  nature,  from 
literature,  from  history,  but  the  most  telling  are  those 
that  lie  nearest  in  the  most  familiar  objects  and  exper- 
iences of  every  day.  The  rich  poetic  and  figurative 
language  of  the  Bible,  the  wealth  of  the  Midrashic 
parables  and  allegories,  are  our  peculiar  heritage. 
These  we  should  delight  to  utilize  and  develop.  He  is  a 
very  unwise  rabbi  who  neglects  or  slights  them.  The 
Jewish  congregation  has  a  decided  taste  and  preference 
for  those  fragrant  flowers  that  grow  in  the  gardens  of 
Jewish  fancy.  What  makes  sermons  so  dull  and  prosy 
for  most  people  is  that  they  are  too  didactic.  The 
preacher  never  rises  above  being  a  teacher.  The 
teacher  is  the  vehicle  of  thought.  He  is  permitted  to 
remain  objective  in  his  presentation.  Not  so  the 
preacher.  The  teacher  addresses  himself  to  the  mind. 
The  preacher  rises  to  a  higher  appeal,  for  "the  mind  is 
lesser  than  the  truth  it  strives  to  comprehend."  He 
must  be  the  teacher  plus  something  else.  That  some- 
thing else  is  his  personality.  He  must  be  subjective. 
He  must  put  into  his  discourses,  under  proper  control, 
his  whole  being,  his  body,  soul  and  mind.  All  that 
mysterious  quality  we  name  personal  magnetism, 
eloquence,  soulfulness,  must  pass  from  the  depths  of  his 
being  to  that  of  his  hearers.  As  the  rabbis  have  declared, 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  95 

^n  b»  D^Dj^i  lbr\  JO  D^KXVn  D^TT  "Only  words  that 
well  from  the  heart  will  enter  the  heart." 

This  is  a  power  that  cannot  be  assumed  because  it 
must  be  sincere.  It  must  be  the  man  himself  speaking, 
and  as  the  man  grows  in  character  his  sermons  grow  in 
effect.  It  is  the  man  behind  the  sermon,  not  the 
verbiage  or  rhetoric,  that  counts.  Mere  attitudes  are 
repulsive,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  great  realities 
of  sacrifice  and  sorrow,  temptation  and  shame, 
struggle  and  triumph,  mere  platitudes  are  barren. 
Rant  and  scolding  into  which  preaching  sometimes 
degenerates  is  not  to  be  confused  with  just  and  timely 
rebuke  which,  because  it  is  rare,  is  so  telling.  Per- 
sonalities in  the  pulpit  are  never  admissable.  "Lo 
Ha-kapdon  Melamed."  If  a  "man  of  temper  cannot 
teach' '  much  less  can  he  preach.  Every  occasion  on  which 
you  speak  you  must  consider  important.  No  man  knows 
what  fateful  issue  may  hang  upon  his  words.  There  is 
no  time  at  which  the  rabbi  may  ignore  the  fact  that  by 
virtue  of  his  office  he  is,  in  every  public  utterance,  the 
representative  and  exponent  of  the  cause  of  Israel. 
"Your  sermons  are  too  Jewish"  is  the  plaint  of  a  certain 
type  of  our  people,  but  unless  the  sermon  be  devoted  to 
the  elucidation  of  the  Jewish  viewpoint,  whatever  the 
theme,  unless  it  breathe  the  Jewish  spirit  throughout, 
the  rabbi  has  not  justified  himself  as  a  Jewish  preacher. 
It  is  all  the  more  imperative  that  this  truth  be  empha- 
sized in  a  world  which  has  so  persistently  misrepresented 
the  Jewish  standpoint  as  being  narrow  and  illiberal. 
The  attitude  of  the  Jewish  preacher  must  not  be  apolo- 
getic,  but   assertive.     This  it  cannot  be  unless  it  be 


96  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

constructive.  It  cannot  be  constructive  if  it  rest  on 
mere  negations.  The  rabbi  as  a  preacher  must  have 
definite  and  settled  convictions.  I  congratulate  you, 
young  gentlemen,  on  the  superior  advantages  you 
possess  over  those  which  were  ours,  who  were  your 
predecessors  as  students  of  this  college.  We  had 
neither  text-books  nor  works  of  reference  in  the  English 
language.  You  have  at  your  command  the  splendid 
range  of  works  which  have  since  been  provided,  from 
Mielziner's  "Introduction  to  the  Talmud"  to  Dr. 
Kohler's  monumental  volume  on  "Jewish  Theology." 
Through  these  and  numerous  publications  in  various 
languages  you  have  ready  access  to  sources  whence  you 
may  draw  authoritative  materials  with  which  to  build, 
each  one  for  himself,  a  firm  structure  of  definite  con- 
victions on  which  to  base  your  ministry.  To  achieve 
this  each  must  solve  for  himself  certain  ethical  problems 
to  which  consideration  will  be  given  in  the  next  lecture. 


Questions  and  Answers 

Q.  Our  boys  who  go  out  for  the  first  time  to  preach 
in  small  towns  must,  by  college  orders,  preach  sermons 
prepared  by  others.  Do  you  not  think  that  a  student 
who  studies  here  for  four  years  ought  to  write  his  own 
sermons? 

A .  My  answer  is  that  the  experiences  of  your  faculty 
make  them  better  judges  of  this  matter  than  I  am. 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  that  the  motive  prompting 
the  early  reformers  to  adopt  the  sermon,  as  well  as 
other  reforms,  such  as  taking  off  the  hat,  etc.,  was  that 
they  wished  to  copy  the  Gentiles?  Was  not  all  the 
historical  justification  an  afterthought? 

A.  I  think  this  question  is  a  somewhat  con- 
temptuous reflection  on  the  men  who  gave  a  solid  foun- 
dation to  the  Reform  movement.  Read  the  article  on 
"Reform  Judaism"  by  Dr.  E.  G.  Hirsch,  in  the  Jewish 
Encyclopedia,  also  the  works  there  cited,  and  Dr. 
David  Philipson's  "The  Reform  Movement  in  Judaism." 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  a  good  idea,  in  order  to  dis- 
courage the  undue  stress  on  the  sermon,  to  abolish  the 
custom  of  preaching  once  or  twice  every  Sabbath  and 
thus  emphasize  prayer? 

A.  This  is  a  very  good  idea,  and  it  might  be  well  in 
some  cases  to  abolish  preaching  altogether.  Unless  the 
preacher  really  has  a  message,  preaching  week  after 
week  grows  mechanical.  One  cannot  always  be  in  a 
ferment.     I  have  not  hesitated  at  times  to  share  with 


98  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

my  people  some  sermon  that  has  stirred  me  deeply,  one 
of  Jellinek's  or  of  some  other  master  spirit.  We  now 
have  intensive  preaching  twice  a  week  from  Rosh 
Hashanah  until  the  Shabuoth  holidays,  and  then  there 
is  a  lapse  for  most  people  during  the  summer  months. 
We  lay  up  a  store  for  them,  as  it  were,  so  that  they  may 
have  spiritual  food  during  the  long  interval  when 
nothing  will  be  provided. 

At  one  time,  I  proposed  to  abolish  Friday  evening 
lectures,  but  before  I  did  so  I  went  among  the  people 
and  got  fifty  to  sign  papers  that  they  would  agree  to 
come  to  a  class  in  which  we  would  hold  instruction  on 
some  Biblical  or  other  Jewish  theme.  We  had  there- 
after simply  our  regular  Sabbath  eve  service  without  a 
sermon,  and  then  we  had  a  meeting,  at  another  time 
which  Dr.  Marcus  Jastrow  and  I  conducted  together. 
Our  informal  Bible  talks  at  these  meetings  did  more  to 
put  a  measure  of  religious  thought  and  sentiment  into 
the  people  than  years  of  sermons  possibly  could.  I  am 
much  in  sympathy  with  the  suggestion  that  we  have  a 
minimum  of  sermons  and  cease  to  let  them  overshadow 
either  the  worship  or  the  instruction.  At  every  service 
a  brief,  timely,  and  impressive  prayer  should  be  offered 
by  the  rabbi.  I  know  that  this  fully  answers  the 
devout  worshipper's  hunger  for  a  word  of  inspiration  or 
comfort  and  help — for  that  confession  has  often  been 
made  to  me. 

Q.     Should  a  sermon  close  with  a  short  prayer? 

A.  This  was  the  general  custom  in  former  genera- 
tions. It  is  a  matter  to  be  left  to  the  exaltation  of  the 
moment,    largely.     If   your    sermon   puts    you    in    a 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  99 

prayerful  mood,  it  is  the  thing  for  you  to  do.  If  your 
sermon  is  upon  some  practical  issue  that  is  apart  from 
and  out  of  touch,  for  the  moment,  with  that  which  has 
to  do  with  a  prayerful  spirit  and  attitude,  do  not  drag 
in  a  prayer  at  the  end.  Use  your  discretion  and  best 
judgment  and  consider  also  the  sentiment  and  emotions 
of  the  moment  in  deciding  the  matter. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  of  a  system  of  prayer  leaflets 
to  replace  the  prayer  book  in  order  to  insure  variety  and 
hence  interest  in  prayers? 

A .  I  do  not  think  well  of  this.  If  variety  in  prayers 
be  needed,  let  this  variety  come  from  you  as  leader  in 
worship,  from  the  prayer  which  comes  directly  out  of 
your  own  heart  and  soul — the  prayer  which  you  feel 
you  need  and  know  your  people  need  and  feel.  As  a 
rule,  at  each  service  I  give  a  prayer  in  which  I  try  to  voice 
what  seems  to  me  the  religious  need  of  the  congregation 
at  the  time.  Apart  from  this,  I  still  hold  fast  to  the 
Prayer  Book.  Our  people  love  the  liturgy.  Without 
any  liturgy  the  minister  is  taxed  with  the  overwhelming 
task  of  recreating,  week  after  week,  the  devotional  spirit 
that  shall  not  fail  to  edify  and  uplift.  There  is  danger 
that  much  repetition  tends  to  make  the  service  mechani- 
cal. This  is  not  the  fault  of  the  liturgy  but  of  the 
individual  who  grows  mentally  indolent  and  fails  to  rise 
to  the  true  attitude  of  worship.  It  is  incumbent  on 
the  worshipper  to  make  the  conscious  effort  to  respond 
with  the  heart  and  mind.  One  does  not  really  weary 
of  those  classic  utterances  which  have  proven  them- 
selves gems  of  priceless  worth.  You  cannot  improve 
on  the  Psalms.     Our  liturgy  is  made  up  of  the  finest 


100  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

outpourings  of  the  Jewish  spirit,  and  we  cannot  afford 
to  sell  these  for  any  substitute,  especially  in  an  era 
which  is  not  noted  for  the  genius  of  prayer.  No! 
this  leaflet  system  does  not  appeal  to  me. 

0'  Would  the  retention  of  the  cantor  and  his 
traditional  place  in  the  service  be  of  value? 

A.  This  is  largely  a  matter  of  fashion  and  taste. 
For  a  large  congregation  that  can  afford  to  indulge  in 
the  expense  of  an  additional  man  in  the  pulpit  as  an 
auxiliary  to  the  choir  it  is  well  and  good.  There  is 
a  certain  charm  about  that  mode  of  worship  which  has 
impressed  itself  on  the  Jewish  spirit.  I  had  no  cantor 
while  rabbi  in  Mobile  or  in  Kansas  City,  but  I  found  one 
installed  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  larger  communities 
it  is  quite  the  rule,  as  it  is  abroad,  to  have  the  precentor. 
I  see  no  principle  at  stake  in  such  matters.  Where 
there  is  no  principle  I  never  raise  an  issue.  When  it 
comes  to  a  principle,  I  take  a  firm  stand  and  fight.  My 
congregation  likes  chanting.  I  see  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  have  that  as  well  as  the  music  by  the  choir. 

0-  Would  you  advise  a  rabbi  to  omit  prayers  from 
the  Union  Prayer  Book  with  which  his  beliefs  do  not 
coincide  and  which,  therefore,  he  cannot  read  honestly 
and  sincerely? 

A.  Let  a  rabbi  prove  circumspect  in  taking  liberties 
with  the  Prayer  Book.  If  he  be  a  rabbi  grown  gray  in 
years,  a  man  who  has  achieved  a  place  of  authority  by 
reason  of  his  knowledge,  experience,  and  character,  let 
him  assume  that  authority.  If,  after  long  deliberation 
and  careful  study,  you  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
you  cannot  subscribe  to  certain  prayers  in  the  Union 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  101 

Prayer  Book,  refer  the  matter  to  the  Conference.  I 
would  not  fight  from  the  outside  but  from  the  inside. 
I  would  go  to  the  Conference  and  say,  "Here  is  something 
you  say  with  your  lips  but  do  not  believe  with  your 
hearts.     It  must  be  expunged." 

Perhaps  you  may  err  in  your  understanding  of  the 
prayers.  Remember,  we  zealously  safeguard  to  all  the 
liberty  of  interpretation.  There  are  Jewish  methods  of 
interpretation,  radical  and  orthodox.  Thus  you  have 
a  right  to  interpret  in  your  way,  TOD  Mb  ITIX  fPT 
"the  law  which  Moses  commanded  us."  We  have  no 
one  method  of  interpreting  revelation  nor  have  we  been 
so  narrow  in  any  generation  that  we  have  not  allowed 
the  fullest  latitude  in  the  interpretation  of  every 
doctrine.  Read  Dr.  Kohler's  "Jewish  Theology"  and 
you  will  find  yourself  restrained  from  hasty  judgment 
in  this  matter. 

0.  The  service  in  the  synagogue  is  a  one-man  affair. 
What  methods  would  you  suggest  of  creating  a  religious 
service  in  which  the  entire  congregation  would  be 
active  participants?  Do  you  think  this  can  be  done  by 
set  forms  of  prayer  such  as  the  Union  Prayer  Book? 

A.  A  most  excellent  question,  and  one  which  has 
given  a  great  deal  of  concern  to  the  man  in  the  pulpit 
who  is  aiming  to  work  with  the  congregation.  I  can 
tell  you  something  of  what  others  have  done  and  what 
I  have  tried  to  do.  Congregations  have  misinterpreted 
many  things  about  Reform,  and  have  used  the  modifi- 
cation and  abrogation  of  certain  ceremonies  as  a 
pretext  for  laxity  in  all  things.  To  secure  the  proper 
decorum  in  worship,  Reform  congregations  have  gone 


102  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

to  such  an  extreme  as  to  silence  the  worshipers  and 
reduce  them  to  passivity.  The  Union  Prayer  Book  has 
been  exceedingly  helpful,  because  of  its  responsive 
readings  and  of  the  portions  assigned  for  audible 
reading  by  the  congregation,  in  enabling  the  people  to 
participate  in  the  services. 

Singing  by  the  congregation  has  also  been  promoted 
by  the  Union  Hymnal.  The  children  are  trained  in 
the  school  and  then  naturally  lead  in  singing  at  the 
services.  Groups  of  young  men  and  women  forming 
choral  societies  become  acquainted  with  the  Jewish 
hymnology.  With  their  aid  the  congregation  falls  into 
the  habit  of  singing  as  a  matter  of  course.  It  may  take 
several  years  to  train  your  people  but  it  can  be  done. 
One  of  the  most  delightful  outcomes  of  this  effort  in 
my  congregation  was  the  institution,  some  years  ago, 
of  a  boy  choir.  They  sing  at  every  service  all  the  year 
round,  and  are  trained  for  choral  work  with  the  regular 
choir.  It  is  wonderful,  on  a  Yom  Kippur  afternoon, 
when  the  boys  cluster  around  the  pulpit,  to  hear  them 
sing  the  quaint  and  touching  music  of  the  ritual.  How 
the  languid  congregation  revives!  What  joy  is  in  their 
countenances!  Our  young  men  and  women  have  their 
Junior  Choir  which  serves  at  the  special  services  conducted 
by  our  Junior  Congregation.  These  are  some  of  the  practi- 
cal things  we  have  found  of  value  in  restoring  active 
participation  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  public  worship. 

0-     Should  laymen  lead  the  worship? 

A.  The  part  of  the  individual  in  the  service  is  one  of 
the  strong  points  of  the  Orthodox  Synagogue,  and  in  my 
judgment,  it  was  a  great  mistake  to  omit  it  entirely  in 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  103 

the  Reform.  While  there  were  abuses  connected  with 
the  calling  up  of  individuals  to  read  from  the  Torah, 
the  individuals  felt  the  responsibility.  It  was  a  direct 
appeal  to  them.  To  some  extent  we  are  restoring  it  in 
our  congregation.  Every  Sabbath  we  invite  some 
member  to  read  from  the  Haftarah.  On  every  Yom 
Kippur  afternoon  we  have  a  number  of  men  read  fine 
selections  from  Jewish  writings,  including  those  provided 
in  the  Prayer  Book.  Also,  as  I  have  cited  to  you,  we 
have  the  young  boys  and  girls  volunteer  to  learn  to 
read  the  lesson  from  the  Torah  on  certain  occasions. 
This  has  stimulated  interest  in  Hebrew.  When  people 
have  a  share  in  the  ceremony,  worship  is  not  a  mere 
matter  of  proxy — a  performance. by  the  rabbi  alone. 
Attendance  at  Synagogue  becomes  a  responsibility  and 
the  whole  service  takes  on  a  renewed  vitality. 

Q.  If  a  model  sermon  should  be  limited  to  the 
development  of  only  one  idea,  what  is  the  proper  length 
of  such  a  sermon? 

A.  The  proper  length  of  a  sermon  depends  upon  a 
number  of  adventitious  circumstances.  In  fact,  any 
sermon  is  made  by  the  circumstances  as  much  as  by 
the  minister.  I  have  preached  a  sermon  under  certain 
circumstances  and  become  speedily  aware  that  it 
evoked  an  unquestionable  response  of  deep  intensity. 
I  have  delivered  that  same  sermon  on  another  occasion 
and  it  has  fallen  flat.  The  same  ideas  and  illustrations 
were  used.  What  was  the  reason?  I  have  often  asked 
that  question,  and  my  observation  has  led  me  to 
conclude  that  the  reason  lay  in  the  fact  that  sermons 
are  created  by  the  attendant  circumstances  and  con- 


104  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

di lions  as  much  as  they  are  by  the  speaker.  For 
instance,  you  are  invited  to  take  part  in  the  dedication 
of  a  synagogue  or  the  installation  of  one  of  your  col- 
leagues. The  atmosphere  is  tense  with  expectancy. 
People  have  been  keyed  up  for  the  event  weeks  ahead. 
Your  function,  then,  is  merely  to  find  the  form  of  expres- 
sion that  will  most  fully  give  voice  to  what  is  already  in 
existence  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people.  Think 
not  of  yourself  but  of  your  hearers. 

Let  me  admonish  you  against  a  sin  which  most  of  our 
rabbis  and  other  public  speakers  commit.  When  a 
program  has  been  arranged  and  you  have  been  asked  to 
speak  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  do  not  commit  the 
error  of  speaking  thirty  or  forty  minutes.  You  will 
ruin  the  whole  program  if  you  do.  I  have  seen  the  joy 
of  many  a  festival  marred  by  the  thoughtlessness  of 
men  who  forgot  that  the  occasion  was  to  be  shared  with 
others.  If  you  talk  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  words  a 
minute  and  you  speak  for  twenty  minutes,  do  not 
exceed  fifteen  hundred  words.  Allow  the  other  five 
minutes  for  some  deliberateness  and  effectiveness  in 
delivery.  If  you  are  asked  to  officiate  at  a  marriage 
you  have  an  opportunity  to  voice  a  sentiment  that 
already  exists  and  to  deepen  the  spiritual  impress  of 
the  critical  moment  that  binds  two  lives  together  in 
the  most  sacred  of  earthly  covenants.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary for  you  to  engage  in  the  cheap  occupation  of  haras- 
sing your  hearers  and  stirring  up  conflicting  emotions 
in  the  hearts  of  the  parents  who,  perhaps,  are  sending 
away  their  only  child.  So  at  a  funeral  the  fountains  of 
sorrow  are  open  and  overflow  with  tears.     You  are  not 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  105 

to  tear  out  people's  hearts  by  agonizing  them  still 
further.  This  is  not  your  vocation.  You  are  to  be 
the  comforter,  the  helper,  the  one  who  gives  the  forti- 
tude religion  inspires.  I  do  not  deliver  eulogies.  I 
strive  to  express  in  carefully  considered  prayer  what  the 
moment  is  to  teach.  I  feel  that  these  are  golden 
moments  and  we  destroy  their  value  and  turn  the  gold 
into  dross  by  multiplying  words. 

Q.  Why  is  it  that,  when  a  rabbi  knows  the  auditors 
are  bored  by  a  too  lengthy  discourse,  he  will  continue  to 
protract  the  sermon  to  forty  minutes  or  more  even 
when  the  congregation  is  paying  little  or  no  attention? 
Do  you  not  think  a  short,  vigorous  sermon  of  fifteen 
minutes  preferable  to  a  loquacious,  wearisome,  long- 
drawn-out  sermon,  when  the  rabbi  is  really  playing  for 
time?  Do  you  not  think  that  a  forty  minute  sermon 
cheapens  the  sermon  and  makes  it  and  the  congrega- 
tion's response  to  it  mechanical?  Cannot  the  protrac- 
tedness  of  the  sermon  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  and  the 
service  be  beautified  and  rendered  more  appealing? 

A .  This  is  a  splendid  illustration  of  prolixity,  of  how 
not  to  ask  a  question  or  preach  a  sermon.  The  only 
reason  for  drawing  out  a  fifteen  minute  discourse  to 
fortyminutes  is  unpreparedness.  I  have  tried  to  empha- 
size with  all  my  power  in  what  I  read  to  you  that, 
whether  your  discourse  be  written  out  in  detail  and 
memorized  or  only  from  mental  notes,  the  sermon  must 
be  prepared.  The  rabbi  who  rambles  along  for  forty  or 
fifty  minutes  demonstrates  that  he  has  not  boiled  down 
his  discourse,  i.  e.  eliminated  the  processes  and  offered 
the  results  of  his  studies.     But  even  with  the  fullest 


106  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

preparation  it  takes  an  extraordinary  preacher,  one  of  rare 
magnetism,  to  hold  a  gathering  of  people  of  varied  mental 
training  for  much  longer  than  thirty  minutes.  I  preach 
with  my  watch  in  front  of  me  and  when  I  find  I  am 
beginning  to  transgress,  I  close  my  discourse  and  save 
the  rest  for  another  time.  When  I  see  that  my  congre- 
gation is  beginning  to  grow  lax,  I  realize  that  I  have  lost 
my  grip  on  them.  This  is  the  minute  I  must  be  able  to 
halt  or  to  throw  in  some  striking  illustration  or  fact  that 
will  arrest  their  attention  so  that  they  must  listen. 
This  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  not  being  tied  down  to 
a  set  form  of  memorized  words.  But  it  is  also  attended 
by  a  grave  danger  to  be  guarded  against.  I  refer  to 
the  habit  of  some  glib-tongued  speakers  who  lower  the 
standards  of  the  pulpit  by  indulging  in  colloquial  or 
even  slang  expressions. 

Q.  What  is  your  opinion  of  a  rabbi  using  New 
Testament  texts? 

A.  I  think  that  it  would  be  an  unnecessary  demon- 
stration of  the  rabbi's  poverty  of  thought.  Without 
depreciating  its  excellencies,  the  New  Testament  is, 
after  all,  an  exceedingly  limited  field  of  literature.  We 
have  in  the  so-called  Old  Testament  and  in  all  the  vast 
post-biblical  literature  that  has  sprung  therefrom 
sources  and  texts  which  you  would  never  be  able  to 
exhaust  even  if  you  were  to  live  as  long  as  Methusaleh. 
However,  the  purpose  of  a  text  is  to  give  to  a  sermon 
the  dignity  and  force  which  come  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
based  on  what  the  hearers  recognize  as  an  authoritative 
precept.  Where  the  New  Testament,  has  avowedly 
repudiated  Judaism,  it  is  devoid  of  authoritative  appeal 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  107 

to  the  Jewish  mind.  Its  fine  parables  and  texts,  it  is 
well  known,  are  found  largely  paralleled  in  Jewish 
teachings.  It  is  manifestly  best  for  us  to  quote  the 
Jewish  sources. 

Q.  Has  a  rabbi  a  right  to  preach  ideas  which  have 
found  little  acceptance  in  Jewish  thought.  Must  he 
accept  all  the  beliefs  which  are  currently  thought  to  be 
Jewish? 

A.  Judaism  has,  throughout  the  ages,  been  notable 
for  its  rare  hospitality  to  alien  thought.  "The  tent  of 
Father  Abraham  was  open  on  all  sides,"  was  the  charac- 
teristic observation  of  our  sages.  Synagogues  were 
wont  to  be  built  with  windows  open  to  all  four  cardinal 
points  that  the  light  might  stream  in.  The  Bible 
welcomes  the  lore  of  Chaldea,  Egypt,  and  Babylon. 
The  Apocrypha  is  steeped  in  the  wisdom  of  the  Greeks. 
Maimonides  ponders  over  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle, 
and  Mendelssohn  is  the  modern  Plato.  We  in  our  turn 
live,  move,  and  have  our  being  in  the  intellectual 
atmosphere  of  the  age  of  science,  and  rejoice  in  the  air  of 
freedom  we  breathe. 

Note,  then,  that  this  freedom  to  share  all  thoughts 
and  drink  at  the  fountains  of  every  inspiration  has 
nourished  the  mental  and  spiritual  life  of  Israel.  Indeed, 
to  this,  many  think,  we  owe  our  continued  existence  and 
growth  despite  the  hostile  conditions  that  so  often 
harassed  us.  Note  also,  that  it  was  the  distinctive 
quality  of  the  Jewish  genius  that,  while  sharing  in  the 
thought-life,  and  civilization  of  all  peoples,  it  exercised 
a  keen  and  discerning  judgment,  casting  off  and 
rejecting  the  false  and  contradictory  and  absorbing  and 


108  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

assimilating  that  which  it  found  to  be  true.  Whatever 
new  truth  it  learned  it  recast  and  impressed  with  the 
stamp  of  the  Jewish  mould  and  form  of  expression. 
Witness  the  superiority  of  the  biblical  over  the  Baby- 
lonian myths  of  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis,  the  just 
and  humane  spirit  of  the  Mosaic  code  over  that  of  the 
code  of  Hammurabi.  Thus  it  rejected  many  ancient 
books,  denied  them  a  place  in  the  Canon,  and  found 
neither  the  New  Testament  nor  the  Koran,  neither 
Kabbalah  nor  "Science  and  Health,"  conformable  with 
its  basic  point  of  view.  This,  then,  is  my  answer: 
Nothing  in  the  realm  of  thought  is  to  be  denied  to  you, 
but  weigh  and  measure  all  by  the  eternal  standards 
which  Jewish  judgment  has  apprehended  and  the  Jewish 
spirit  approved. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  the  presentation  of  biblical 
criticism  in  sermons  a  precarious  procedure? 

A.  I  certainly  do.  Place  yourself,  in  imagination, 
in  your  pulpit,  ready  for  your  discourse.  You  are  facing 
your  congregation  which  is  made  up  of  all  kinds  of 
minds, — of  all  degrees  of  preparation  and  lack  of 
preparation,  from  the  little  child  to  the  college  graduate. 
You  realize  that  you  cannot  talk  biblical  criticism 
profitably  to  this  sort  of  a  gathering.  All  people  are 
not  trained  to  concentrate  on  such  abstract  subjects  as 
religion.  Moreover,  if  you  bring  in  a  scientific  discus- 
sion of  any  kind,  you  turn  your  pulpit  into  a  platform. 
The  pulpit  is  not  a  lecture  platform  nor  a  chair  of 
theology.  The  Bible  should  be  treated  in  the  pulpit 
for  homilectic  purposes.  From  it  we  are  to  draw  that 
direct  and  vital  message  of  life,  duty,  conduct,  and 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  109 

character  to  which  the  pulpit  is  definitely  consecrated. 
When  the  time  comes  for  you  to  teach  biblical  criticism 
—and  I  say  teach,  not  preach— you  can  get  a  group  of 
people  together,  people  who  are  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, and  you  will  find  a  ready  response.  You  will  be 
treating  this  theme  in  the  right  and  not  the  wrong  place. 

0.  It  is  obviously  unwise  to  teach  biblical  criticism 
from  the  pulpit,  but  may  we  not  draw  illustration  from 
the  Bible,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  results  of  biblical 
criticism;  for  instance,  speak  of  the  time  when  we  were 
a  nomadic,  tribal  people  worshipping  a  mountain  deity? 

A .  Certainly.  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  you  are 
to  ignore  the  fact  that  there  was  a  "second  Isaiah"  or 
that  you  are  to  be  blind  to  the  truths  revealed  by  the 
monuments  and  the  comparative  study  of  religions. 
What  I  mean  is  this:  do  nothing  in  your  pulpit  that 
would  tend  to  weaken  the  reverential  spirit.  Do  what 
you  can  to  build  it  up.  Reverence  is  a  delicate  flower, 
and  it  takes  but  a  slight  breath  of  the  chill  wind  of 
criticism  to  blight  it.  Therefore  be  exceedingly 
cautious  as  to  how  you  use  biblical  criticism.  Always 
keep  in  mind  that  your  tools  are  to  serve  constructive 
ends.  Do  what  you  can  to  build  up  religious  life.  In 
this  sense  I  mean  to  warn  you  against  abusing  the  pulpit. 

Q.  What  is  your  opinion  of  a  layman  preaching 
from  the  pulpit? 

A.  There  are  times  when  a  layman  may  deliver  a 
message  from  the  pulpit  which  will  be  of  more  effect 
and  power  than  if  the  rabbi  delivers  it.  However,  we 
have  no  such  distinction  among  us.  The  priesthood 
has  gone  and  the  rabbi  is  only  a  layman  elevated  to 


110  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

a  place  of  leadership  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he 
has  endeavored  to  qualify  himself  for  the  position 
through  special  study  and  training.  A  layman  who  has 
specialized,  e.  g.  on  Jewish  charity,  Jewish  law,  etc. 
may  know  more  about  these  subjects  than  a  Rabbi 
possibly  may  know.  There  are  occasions  when  a 
congregation  may  well  hear  the  message  of  such  a  one. 
An  added  significance  is  imparted  to  such  an  event 
because  a  minister  cannot,  in  the  minds  of  some,  be 
disassociated  from  the  fact  that  he  is  a  member  of  a 
profession  and  his  opinion,  as  they  think,  is  likely  to  be 
touched  with  a  professional  bias,  whereas  your  layman 
is  unhampered  by  such  a  prejudgment.  You  can  see 
how  the  religious  interpretation  of  some  message  by  a 
layman  of  authority  on  philanthropic,  civic,  educational, 
or  other  vital  problem  may  prove  most  valuable  on 
certain  occasions. 

Q.  What  can  a  rabbi  do  who  finds  preaching 
irksome? 

A.  Let  him  try  it  a  little  longer  and  perhaps  he  may 
get  over  the  feeling.  But  if,  as  time  goes  on,  the  rabbi 
finds  that  preaching  is  not  his  vocation,  let  him  not 
make  the  mistake  of  forcing  himself  upon  the  congrega- 
tion and  forcing  himself  to  abide  in  a  vocation  for  which 
he  is  convinced  he  is  not  fitted.  I  call  your  attention 
to  the  fact  that  we  are  living  in  a  period  and  in  a  country 
where  opportunities  in  the  ministry  are  broadening. 
Time  was  when  the  only  successful  rabbi  was  the  man 
who  could  draw  a  crowd  and  hold  them  enrapt  by  his 
eloquence.  Many  congregations  are  learning  to  appre- 
ciate plain,  straightforward,  manly  messages  given  by 
the  man  who  feels  what  he  says  and  means  it,  even 


THE  RABBI  AS  PREACHER  111 

though  he  have  not  great  magnetism  or  superior  powers 
of  expression. 

Q.  What  are  some  of  the  other  avenues  in  which  a 
rabbi  may  be  of  service? 

A.  The  profession  of  teaching  is  always  open  to  the 
man  of  scholarly  tastes  and  habits.  Journalism  provides 
a  growing  source  of  opportunity  for  men  of  our  training. 
We  need  rabbis  to  travel  about  the  country  as  Field 
Secretaries.  We  have  a  great  and  largely  unorganized 
mass  of  some  three  million  Jews  in  the  United  States. 
All  the  National  Associations  need  men  who  have  the 
necessary  knowledge  and,  above  all,  the  necessary  zeal 
and  consecration,  to  meet  all  kinds  and  conditions  of 
people  under  all  sorts  of  circumstances,  and  rouse  in 
them  the  enthusiasm  which  will  result  in  promoting 
educational  and  religious  life  among  the  Jews. 

We  have  Jewish  farmers  in  increasing  numbers. 
They  are  living  in  isolated  places  and  are  unable  to 
provide  proper  Jewish  training  for  their  children. 
This  is  an  important  field.  The  Jewish  Chautauqua 
Society  sent  a  rabbi  to  serve  the  farmers  of  North 
Dakota  and  for  a  number  of  years  has  kept  a  young 
man  working  among  the  Jewish  farm  colonies  in  southern 
New  Jersey.  He  goes  from  colony  to  colony,  teaching 
the  children  in  the  afternoons,  leading  the  young  men 
and  women  in  the  evenings,  and  gathering  them  together 
in  clubs  for  all  sorts  of  study  and  social  activity. 

The  new  profession  of  "social  worker"  affords  expand- 
ing opportunities.  Some  men  find  they  are  not  fitted 
to  serve  a  congregation  at  large  because  they  are  not 
able  to  handle  men  and  because  they  lack  patience,  the 
insight  and  the  adaptability  to  changing  conditions 


112  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

arising  in  the  life  of  a  community.  What  shall  such  a 
man  do  who  has  spent  years  to  secure  his  education  and 
training  for  the  ministry?  Let  him  go  where  he  need 
not  deal  with  the  world  at  large,  but  where  he  has  a 
sheltered  congregation,  a  group  of  children  or  young 
men  and  women  in  some  Jewish  institution.  To  work 
among  them,  relieved  from  those  often  difficult  and 
vexatious  conditions  with  which  he  is  unable  to  cope, 
will  afford  to  him  a  ministry  than  which  none  can  be 
richer  in  blessing.  Chaplaincies  in  the  Army  and  Navy 
provide  new  and  inspiring  fields  of  service. 

Q.     Would  you  make  use  of  jokes  in  a  sermon? 

A.  A  sermon  is  a  serious  message.  A  joke  is  not  a 
joke  when  it  is  taken  seriously.  There  can  be  little 
fitness  to  joking  in  the  pulpit  and  the  men  who  cheapen 
their  pulpit  discourses  for  the  mere  sport  of  raising  a 
laugh  are  really  considered  by  the  people  as  clowns  and 
exercise  no  genuine  or  lasting  influence. 

Distinguish,  however,  between  mere  jokes  and  humor. 
There  are  some  forms  of  humor  that  may  enhance, 
enliven,  and  ennoble  a  sermon.  A  classic  example  is 
that  sermon  of  Isaiah  in  which  he  sarcastically  pictured 
the  idol-maker  at  his  task.  Another  illustration  is  the 
irony  of  Elijah  when  he  mocked  the  prophets  of  Baal. 

There  are  few  men  who  may  venture  to  handle  this 
edged  tool,  for  its  keen  blade  is  likely  to  slip  and  cause 
disastrous  injury.  Happy  the  man  who  can  handle 
with  skill  and  success  the  deft  contrasts  by  which  tears 
are  dispelled  through  the  sunshine  of  laughter,  the 
hollowness  of  sham  turned  to  shame,  the  truth 
vindicated,  and  the  difficult  leap  made  from  the  plane 
of  the  ridiculous  to  the  summits  of  the  sublime. 


IV 

ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI 

Perhaps  the  most  eloquent  tribute  ever  paid  to  the 
supreme  genius  of  our  prophets  was  the  one  penned  by 
that  most  profound  thinker  and  erudite  scholar,  James 
Darmesteter.  In  his  book,  "The  Religion  of  the 
Future,"  he  makes  this  statement:  "In  turning  towards 
these  men,  humanity  is  not  retrogressing  twenty-six 
centuries;  it  is  they  who  were  twenty-six  centuries  in 
advance.  Humanity  was  too  young  to  read  them. 
But  they  could  wait  without  fear,  sure  of  the  eternity 
of  their  creed,  and  sure  that  humanity  in  its  march 
towards  the  future  would  be  forced  to  retrace  its  steps 

to  the  mountain  and  pass  back  from  Golgotha  to  Zion. 

**************** 

"The  spirit  of  the  prophets  is  in  the  modern  soul. 
They  loved  everything  that  we  love,  and  neither  reason 
nor  conscience  has  lost  anything  through  their  ideal. 
They  have  enthroned  a  God  who  wishes  neither  altars 
nor  holocausts,  nor  canticles,  but  that  'right  shall  gush 
forth  as  water,  and  justice  as  a  never-failing  stream.' 
Righteousness  was  to  them  an  active  force;  the  idea  was 
converted  into  a  fact  before  which  all  other  facts  pale. 
By  virtue  of  believing  in  justice  they  advanced  it  to  the 
rank  of  a  factor  in  history.  They  had  a  cry  of  pity  for 
the  unhappy,  of  vengeance  for  the  oppressor,  of  peace 


114  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

and  unity  for  all  mankind.  They  did  not  say  to  man, 
'This  world  is  worthless.'  They  said  to  him,  'This 
world  is  good,  and  thou  too  be  good,  be  just,  be  pure.' 
They  said  to  the  wealthy,  'Thou  shalt  not  withhold  the 
laborer's  hire';  to  the  judge,  'Thou  shalt  strike  without 
humiliating' ;  to  the  wise  man,  'Thou  art  responsible  for 
the  soul  of  the  people.'  And  they  taught  many  to  live 
and  to  die  for  the  right  without  the  hope  of  Elysian 
fields.  They  taught  people  that  without  ideals  'the 
future  hangs  before  them  in  tatters,'  that  the  ideal  alone 
is  the  aim  of  life,  and  that  it  consists,  not  in  the  glory  of 
the  conqueror,  not  in  riches,  nor  in  power,  but  in  holding 
up  as  a  torch  to  the  nations  the  example  of  better  laws 
and  of  a  higher  soul.  And  lastly,  they  spread  over  the 
future,  above  the  storms  of  the  present,  the  rainbow  of  a 
vast  hope,  a  radiant  vision  of  a  better  humanity,  more 
exempt  from  evil  and  death,  which  shall  no  longer  know 
war  or  unrighteous  judges,  where  divine  science  will  fill 
the  earth,  as  the  waters  cover  the  bed  of  the  ocean." 

To  us,  as  preachers  of  modern  Judaism,  is  entrusted 
this  glorious  program  than  which  none  loftier  has  been 
conceived  by  any  of  the  religious  geniuses  of  the  whole 
human  family.  To  share  in  the  privilege  of  pro- 
claiming the  simple  but  exalted  concepts  of  such  a 
religion  must  send  a  thrill  of  pride,  of  joy,  and  of  honor 
into  the  soul  of  every  man  who  is  permitted  to  stand  in 
the  pulpit. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  "though  Moses  towers  on  the 
mountain  he  does  not  fail  to  descend  to  the  people." 
It  is  in  the  effort  to  bring  down  the  lofty  messages  of  our 
religion  to  their  practical  application  in  the  life  of  the 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  115 

people  that  those  ethical  problems  arise  which  it  is 
incumbent  upon  every  rabbi  to  solve  to  the  inner  satis- 
faction of  his  own  conscience. 

The  first  of  these  problems  has  to  do  with  one's 
intellectual  honesty.  How  far,  e.  g.,  may  you,  a  modern 
man,  function  with  an  ancient  or  medieval  ritual?  We 
retain  in  a  measure  the  symbolism  and  ceremonials 
expressive  of  the  yearnings  and  aspirations  of  other 
generations.  Hebrew  is  retained  in  our  worship  and 
the  English  used  is  largely  archaic.  Agricultural 
festivals  and  historical  holidays  whose  original  meaning 
and  appeal  have  long  since  largely  faded  from  among 
us  still  persist.  The  hopes,  the  ideals,  and  the  convic- 
tions that  belong  to  our  age  are  often  denied  free 
expression.  Can  you  hope  to  draw  men  near  to  the 
divine  with  these  strange  and  obsolete  elements?  Is 
not  God  defamed  rather  than  glorified  when  one 
ministers  at  the  altar  with  offerings  which  have  lost 
their  force  and  their  truth.  To  set  the  ritual  higher  than 
rectitude  was  the  cardinal  sin  against  which  the  ethical 
monotheism   of  the  prophets   so   fiercely   contended. 

Again,  there  are  modern  preachers  ready  to  espouse 
all  sorts  of  vagaries.  If  such  arise  less  frequently 
among  the  Jews  than  elsewhere,  there  is  a  reason.  It 
is  because  of  the  conviction  expressed  in  the  dictum, 
K*2JD  Bnj  DSP  "The  sage  is  greater  than  the 
prophet."— (B.  B.  42).  This  sentiment  found  general 
acceptance  in  Israel.  The  age  of  prophecy  yielded  to 
the  age  of  scholarship.  This  fact  argues  not  retrogres- 
sion but  progression.  The  consecration  of  the  priest 
and  the  inspiration  of  the  prophet  alike  must  pass  under 


116  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

the  intellectual  judgment  of  a  clarified  wisdom.  Without 
reason  worship  degenerates  into  the  quackery  of  a 
mystifying  mummery.  Inspirational  speech  without 
intellectual  poise  becomes  fanatical  ranting.  Our 
practical  age  is  insistent  in  its  demand  for  an  intelligent, 
scholarly  ministry.  The  man  in  the  pulpit  must  speak 
with  the  authority  of  superior  knowledge  and  ripened 
judgment. 

Here,  then,  arise  other  and  most  important  problems 
of  ethics  for  the  ministry.  Scholarship  in  the  ministry 
has  had  its  abuses  also.  The  stream  of  learning  in 
many  generations  ran  out  into  the  barren  sands  of 
scholasticism.  Such  were  the  dry  pilpulistic  discussions 
of  the  Talmud  and  the  casuistry  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  The  mental  agility  they  developed  was  some- 
times at  the  cost  of  blunting  the  finer  spiritual  sensi- 
bilities and  often  entailed  a  willful  neglect  of  the  vital 
realities  of  the  moral  life  of  mankind.  The  scholarship 
of  our  day  is  so  varied  and  concerned  with  such  large  and 
serious  themes  that  it  does  not  so  readily  lose  itself  in 
vapid  speculation.  The  demand  for  a  learned  ministry, 
however,  opens  up  other  temptations.  The  necessity  of 
preaching  week  after  week  and  giving  other  public 
addresses  innumerable,  subjects  the  minister  to  the 
temptation  of  assuming  the  scholarly  pose,  to  impress 
the  public  with  the  versatility  and  the  profundity  of  his 
knowledge  of  all  and  the  most  varied  subjects,  such  as 
only  specialists  or  a  man  of  rarest  mental  grasp  can  attain. 

Obliged  by  the  exactions  of  his  many  functions  often 
to  relinquish  original  researches  of  his  own,  the  modern 
minister  in  a  large  community  must  perforce  be  satisfied 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  117 

to  reap  the  results  of  the  investigations  of  others.  With 
a  mind  thus  open  to  all  truth,  the  man  who  grows 
intellectually  is  sure  to  find  his  views  undergoing  great, 
often  radical,  changes.  What  is  he  to  do?  Shall  he 
cherish  one  set  of  views  in  his  study  and  expound 
another  set  in  his  pulpit?  Shall  he  carry  the  people  to 
whom  he  ministers  through  all  his  mental  struggles 
and  spiritual  wrestlings?  Must  he,  by  the  cold  blasts 
of  criticism,  lay  waste  the  tender  blossoms  of  religion  in 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  others?  In  brief,  can  a  man 
evade  these  dangers  and  yet  be  intellectually  honest  in 
the  modern  ministry? 

The  ethical  questions  I  have  raised  demand  unequivo- 
cal replies.  The  modes  and  forms  of  our  worship  have 
never  been  static.  From  primitive  patriarchal  times  to 
the  present,  they  have  a  continuous  history  of  unfold- 
ment.  The  Tabernacle  and  Temple  with  their  sacrificial 
systems  yielded  to  the  Synagogue  with  its  ritual  of  prayer. 
Permanent  elements  were  evolved.  The  outpourings  of 
the  Psalmists  have  become  the  world's  manual  of  prayers 
and  hymns.  Though  archaic,  their  language  is  classic 
and  unexcelled.  We  moderns  need  to  hold  fast  to  their 
sublime  and  poetic  charm,  to  guard  against  the  invasions 
of  the  commonplace  into  the  language  of  the  sanctuary. 
The  use  of  Hebrew  has  already  been  discussed. 

Agricultural  festivals  and  historic  institutions  have 
come  to  us  out  of  conditions  long  since  changed. 
Yet  permanent  spiritual  values  have  become  associated 
with  Passover,  Tabernacles  and  the  other  Feasts,  whose 
influences  have  invested  the  Jewish  home,  the  Synagogue 
and  the  fives  of  the  people  with  a  charm  and  dignity 
we  dare  not  lose. 


118  THE  RABBIS  CAREER 

Never  must  the  ritual  be  aught  but  a  means  to  the 
ends  of  devotion.  It  has  been  the  chief  motive  of  the 
Reform  movement  to  find  the  true  expression  for  the 
soul-life  of  our  own  generation,  without  rending  the 
bonds  of  reverent  traditions.  Therefore,  the  Rabbis  of 
our  Conference  have  felt  impelled,  from  time  to  time, 
to  modify  and  alter  the  prayer  book  in  the  interest  of 
intellectual  honesty. 

Not  alone  may  a  man  be  intellectually  honest  in 
the  modern  ministry,  he  must  be  so,  and  nothing 
else.  There  is  no  mask  so  transparent  as  that  of  a 
hypocrite.  The  mere  suspicion  of  dishonesty  is  fatal 
to  that  confidence  of  the  people  without  which  no  real 
ministry  can  exist.  The  man  who  strives  to  be  trans- 
parently honest  in  his  convictions  has  never  yet  injured 
religion,  but  has  always  strengthened  it.  Every 
synagogue  true  to  our  best  traditions  is  a  "Free  Syna- 
gogue." An  attitude  of  fearless  candor  constrains  the 
respect  of  enemies  no  less  than  of  friends.  This  attitude 
should  be;  towards  things  settled  and  true,  e.  g.,  the 
inviolability  of  the  moral  law,  one  of  immovable 
orthodoxy;  towards  what  is  unknown  and  open  to 
question,  e.  g.,  psychical  researches,  it  should  be  one 
of  judicial,  reverential  consideration;  towards  things 
disproved  and  obsolete,  e.  g.,  superstitions,  it  should  be 
radical  to  the  literal  extent  of  uprooting.  Such  has  been 
the  attitude  of  our  "men  of  light  and  leading." 

It  is  possible  to  maintain  the  utmost  intellectual 
honesty  in  the  modern  pulpit  while  living  up  to  the 
educational  ideal  of  the  ministry.  The  pulpit  is  not  a 
chair  of  philosophy,  nor  of  scientific  criticism,  nor  of 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  119 

economics  and  sociology,  but  it  is  the  place  where  the 
truths  which  they  may  reveal  are  to  be  transmuted  into 
food  for  the  hunger  of  the  mind  and  drink  for  the  thirst 
of  the  spirit.  The  true  sage  follows  Isaiah's  dictum  in 
imparting  religious  knowledge.  "Precept  upon  pre- 
cept, precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line,  line  upon  line, 
here  a  little,  there  a  little."— (Isaiah  28:13). 

As  we  ourselves  grow  intellectually  by  slow  processes 
to  maturity,  so  must  we  give  others  the  time  to  grow. 
We  give  milk  to  babes  and  meat  to  men.  This  great 
principle  of  modern  pedagogy  applied  to  the  teaching 
of  religion  in  the  school  and  in  the  pulpit  will  safeguard 
every  honest  sentiment  while  it  deepens  and  conserves 
the  truth. 

If,  over  against  the  false,  we  set  the  true  sage  in 
seeking  the  right  ethical  standards  of  a  teaching 
ministry,  so  too  must  we  set  the  true  against  the  false 
prophets  in  working  out  our  ideal  of  a  preaching  ministry. 
Intellectual  honesty  and  moral  honesty  must  go  hand 
in  hand.  Blessed  is  that  minister  to  whom  is  given  the 
divine,  prophetic  gift  of  eloquence,  thereby  to  draw 
men  near  to  the  inspirations  of  holiness,  to  rouse  their 
better  natures  until  they  are  impelled  to  deeds  that 
glorify  their  Maker.  This  is  not  done  by  mere  words. 
The  power  of  the  prophet  was  in  his  personality.  He 
spake  with  the  voice  of  conviction  to  the  startled  con- 
science. The  inner  secret  of  the  inspirational  minister 
is  not  in  his  rhetoric  but  in  his  sincerity.  Like  the  true 
prophet  of  old  he  must  be  the  custodian  of  the  standards 
of  the  higher  ethics.  The  judge  is  the  embodied  con- 
science  of  the   community.     He   stands   for  justice. 


120  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

The  minister  is  the  embodied  character  of  the  com- 
munity, standing  for  righteousness.  The  law  itself 
concedes  to  the  minister  this  higher  rank  in  according 
to  him  the  functions  that  sanctify  birth,  marriage,  and 
death,  thus  to  lift  these  great  human  crises  out  of  the 
plane  of  the  secular  and  to  exalt  the  mysteries  of  life, 
duty,  and  destiny  by  enshrining  them  in  the  idealism  of 
religion.  Through  them  the  minister  is  enabled  to 
bring  the  moral  inspirations  directly  into  the  homes 
and  hearts  of  the  people  as  no  other  man  is  privileged 
to  do.  He  shares  personally  in  the  education  and 
and  training  of  youth,  helps  to  mould  character,  to 
guide  conduct,  and  to  determine  the  careers  of  men, 
women,  and  children.  The  judge  sits  in  state  awaiting 
the  appeals  of  the  wronged  for  justice.  The  minister 
carries  to  the  people  the  higher  law  of  righteousness, 
the  inviolable  and  unimpeachable  standards  of  ethics. 
Whatever  the  emergency,  whatever  the  temptation, 
whatever  the  calamity,  his  stand  must  be  above  all 
personalities  and  partisanship,  free  from  all  self-seeking, 
to  serve  as  guardian  of  the  prophetic  ideal  and  to  seek 
to  make  the  eternal  standards  of  morality  the  supreme 
directing  force  every  day,  for  every  man,  in  every  home, 
school,  factory,  office,  and  shop,  as  well  as  in  every 
sanctuary.  This  is  what  we  are  endeavoring  to  do  in 
a  practical  way  in  the  modern  pulpit. 

In  the  struggle  to  achieve  clarity  of  view  and  firmness 
of  conviction,  to  attain  to  that  inner  harmony  of 
thought  and  feeling  which  establishes  poise  and  stability 
in  what  you  preach  and  teach,  you  are  indeed  blessed  if 
you  have  an  intimate  friend  and  companion  capable  of 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  121 

sharing  your  thought  sympathetically,  yet  critically. 
Here  I  may  be  permitted  to  make  reference  to  the 
glimpses  1  have  had  during  these  thirty-five  years  past 
into  the  most  intimate  phase  of  the  rabbinical  career, 
i.  e.,  into  the  home  life  of  rabbis.  No  confidant,  no 
intellectual  comrade  more  unselfish  or  more  devoted  to 
his  real  well-being  can  a  minister  find  than  the  woman 
who  consents  to  be  his  wife.  Concerning  this  exceed- 
ingly personal  and  vital  matter,  Dr.  Singer  spoke  to  the 
students  at  "Jew's  College,"  in  an  address,  to  which  I 
have  previously  referred,  in  such  terms  that  I  am 
sure  it  will  be  helpful  to  you  to  consider  his  words. 
In  this  most  excellent  address,  entitled  "Where  the 
Clergy  Fail,"  Dr.  Singer  states:  "One  matter  there  is 
upon  which  turns  far  oftener  than  is  suspected  the  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  a  clergyman's  career.  It  is  a  matter 
which,  I  believe,  is  not  dealt  with  in  the  usual  treatises 
on  pastoral  theology  and  about  which,  I  am  sure — 
though  I  have  not  made  particular  inquiries  upon  the 
subject — nothing  is  taught  in  the  curriculum  of  the 
students  of  this  institution.  I  refer  to  the  minister's 
choice  of  a  wife.  Everybody  has  heard  the  old  rabbinic 
adages  about  'Ezer'  and  'Kenegdo,'  that  according  to  a 
man's  deserts  or  lack  of  deserts  so  is  his  wife  a  help  or  a 
hindrance  to  him;  and  about  'Matsa'  and  'Motsa,'  that 
'a  woman  makes  or  mars  her  husband.'  True  enough 
in  their  general  application,  with  no  class  of  the  com- 
munity are  they  more  true  than  with  the  clergy.  Since 
in  the  Jewish  pastorate  celibacy  is  not  regarded  as  a 
qualification,  importance  attaches  to  the  shepherdess 
as  well  as  to  the  shepherd.     In  how  many  ways  can  she 


122  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

directly  or  indirectly  help  forward  her  husband's  work 
and  contribute  to  the  welfare  and  progress  of  his  flock! 
In  the  social  sphere,  failure  in  which  may  seriously 
cripple  a  clergyman's  usefulness,  who  does  not  know 
that  she  is  the  predominant  partner?  If  she  is  sensible 
enough  not  to  consider  the  whole  world  in  league  against 
her  husband  because  people  do  not  fall  down  and 
worship  him,  how  often  may  she  save  him,  too,  from 
making  a  fool  of  himself!  Few  clergymen  who  have 
been  fortunate  enough  to  make  even  a  modest  success 
of  their  careers  will  hesitate  to  acknowledge  to  what 
human  co-operation  that  success  has  been  in  great 
measure  due." 

Permit  me  to  add  to  this  testimony  the  observation 
that  the  lonely  minister  who  is  obliged  to  live  about  in 
hotels  and  boarding  houses  is  at  a  distinct  disadvantage. 
The  whole  tone  of  his  ministry  is  enhanced  and  the 
attitude  of  his  people  lifted  to  a  superior  plane  when  he 
establishes  in  their  midst  a  home  of  his  own.  It  then 
becomes  possible  for  you  not  merely  to  receive  but  also 
to  bestow  the  blessings  of  hospitality.  You  and  yours 
become  an  integral  part  of  the  people's  life.  As  you 
go  to  them  in  their  joys  and  sorrows,  so  in  turn  will  they 
be  enabled  to  bring  to  you  and  yours  the  moral  support 
you  will  need.  That  personal  bond  which  I  have 
emphasized  as  so  vital  to  the  effective  work  of  the 
rabbi  you  will  thus  be  able  to  create,  and  it  will  be 
deepened  and  strengthened  as  by  no  other  means.  We 
do  not  believe  in  the  so-called  pastoral  duties  of  the 
rabbi  in  the  sense  of  going  about  to  exhort  and  to  pray. 
But  we  do  believe  a  rabbi  should  know  the  people  in 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  123 

their  homes  as  they  should  know  him  in  his.  He  will 
thus  learn  from  the  book  of  life  what  no  college  curricu- 
lum can  teach.  His  sermons  will  have  a  real  meaning 
to  those  who  listen  to  him,  if  from  personal  knowledge 
he  has  an  insight  into  the  conditions  of  their  daily 
interests  and  pursuits.  Moreover,  a  live  congregation 
must  seek  to  enlist  every  man,  woman  and  child  in 
some  phase  of  its  activities.  The  rabbi  must  seek  to 
realize  the  practical  dictum  "from  each  according  to  his 
capacity,  to  each  according  to  his  need."  Such 
co-operation  is  immeasurably  furthered  by  the  hand 
of  welcome  cordially  extended  to  rich  and  poor  alike  at 
the  threshold  of  your  own  home. 

A  colleague  tells  me  that  his  practice  of  having  two  of 
his  confirmants  at  his  own  table  for  Kiddush  each  week 
has  led  to  the  restoration  of  that  beautiful  religious  rite 
in  the  homes  of  his  people.  Similarly  have  Seder  and 
Hanukkah  been  reinstituted.  To  preach  of  the  charm 
of  the  Jewish  home  is  well,  to  illustrate  it  by  personal 
example  is  better.  I  am  dilating  on  what  may  seem 
minor  matters,  because  I  wish  to  emphasize  again  the 
personal  basis  of  the  relationship  of  rabbi  and  people. 

There  are  a  number  of  practical  ethical  problems  of 
vital  importance  which  have  to  do  with  the  rabbi 
in  his  relation  to  his  co-workers.  It  has  always  seemed 
to  me  an  anomalous  condition  that  the  rabbi,  whose 
thought  and  effort  is,  or  should  be,  devoted  day  and 
night  to  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  congregation  he 
serves,  should  be  excluded  from  its  councils.  I  have 
found  that  officers  and  directors,  when  made  to  under- 
stand this  condition,  eagerly  welcome  the  presence  of 


124  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

their  rabbi  at  the  sessions  and  gladly  accord  him  his 
rightful  place  at  the  congregational  meetings.  I  am  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  of  the 
School  Board,  of  the  Committee  on  Divine  Service  and 
of  various  other  committees  of  my  congregation. 
This  has  enabled  me  to  be  present  and  to  confer  on  all 
matters  that  involve  the  religious  stand  of  the  congre- 
gation and  on  everything  pertaining  to  its  educational 
and  moral  endeavors.  The  lack  of  such  opportunity 
for  frank  and  friendly  consideration  of  the  many 
issues  that  arise  is  largely  responsible  for  the  friction 
which  often  kindles  the  blaze  of  most  unethical  conten- 
tions. Whenever  disagreements  arise  distinguish  rigidly 
between  measures  and  men,  between  principles  and 
personalities,  that  bitterness  may  be  avoided.  Do  not 
err  in  holding  him  to  be  a  personal  foe  who  avows  a 
different  conviction. 

There  are  difficult  and  delicate  situations  involving 
high  ethical  standards  with  reference  to  your  contract 
with  a  congregation,  your  salary,  your  vacation,  and 
other  privileges  and  responsibilities.  I  know  a  minister 
who  was  dismissed  because  he  failed  to  pay  his  debts, 
and  the  bills  of  the  butcher,  the  baker,  and  his  wife's 
dressmaker  came  in,  to  the  embarrassment  of  the 
Board  of  Directors.  The  ethical  standards  of  a  rabbi 
are  presumed  to  be  as  lofty,  at  least,  as  those  which 
prevail  in  every  other  vocation.  When  this  proves  to 
be  otherwise  there  is  certainly  no  room  for  him  in  the 
ministry  and  our  profession  should  be  relieved  of  the 
delinquent. 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  125 

There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  ignoring  or  blinking 
at  the  fact  that  there  have  been  and  are,  unfortunately, 
instances  of  disagreements,  misunderstandings,  and 
maladjustments  between  rabbis  and  congregations,  to 
rectify  which  we  need  an  active  and  competent  agency. 
The  present  status  is  almost  one  of  chaos. 

Rabbis  are,  unfortunately,  placed  or  misplaced. 
Congregations  are  dissatisfied,  whether  justly  or 
unjustly,  and  find  themselves  helpless  because  of  the 
proverbial  Jewish  Rachmonoth,  which  will  weakly  endure 
in  long-suffering  patience  the  neglect  or  lowering  of 
the  religious  fife  of  a  community  rather  than  dispose 
of  an  incompetent  and  unsatisfactory  incumbent  in 
the  pulpit. 

There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  ignoring  or  blinking 
at  the  fact  that  there  are  and  have  been  men  in  the 
pulpit  who  have  been  left  to  contend  single-handed 
with  the  abuse  of  power  on  the  part  of  congregational 
leaders  and  boards;  men  who  have  desired  to  make 
pulpit  transfers  because  of  petty  annoyances  which 
sensitive  spirits  resent;  men  who,  because  of  health  or 
climatic  conditions,  have  found  it  imperative  to  change 
but  lacked  initiative  or  experience  and  suffered  because 
of  their  helplessness.  Again  there  are,  today,  men  who 
are  misplaced  by  reason  of  a  lack  of  adaptation  to  their 
duties.  Yet,  there  is  no  agency  which  endeavors  to 
find  the  right  man  for  the  right  place.  As  a  consequence 
there  is  a  continuous  waste,  economically,  physically, 
and  spiritually.  Worst  of  all  is  the  resultant  welter  of 
unseemly  rivalries.  Animosities  are  engendered  between 
colleagues,  the  whole  standard  of  the  profession  lowered, 


126  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

its  influence  weakened,  and  its  authority  impugned. 
These  unfortunate  conditions  make  an  attempt  to  find 
a  remedy  imperative.  We  dare  not  permit  the  present 
laissez  faire  policy  to  continue.  Our  self-respect 
demands  some  action  in  this  matter.  A  proposition 
which  I,  as  chairmen  of  a  committee,  prepared  and 
offered  to  the  Central  Conference  of  American  Rabbis 
at  its  session  of  1916,  in  an  effort  to  find  a  practical 
solution,  failed  of  adoption.  The  plan  contemplated  a 
Bureau  of  Registration  and  fining  of  pulpit  vacancies. 
It  was  hoped  to  extend  to  the  whole  rabbinate  the  excel- 
lent system  of  registration  and  of  record  keeping 
employed  at  the  Hebrew  Union  College.  On  a  single 
card  is  presented  the  whole  history  and  record  of  each 
student  from  the  day  of  his  matriculation  to  his  gradua- 
tion .  The  faculty  itself  acts  as  a  helpful  bureau,  serving 
both  its  graduates  and  the  congregations,  who  naturally 
turn  to  it  for  men  to  supply  their  vacant  pulpits. 

Perhaps,  some  day,  the  Conference  will  find  courage  to 
entrust  to  a  committee  of  its  members  functions  similar 
to  those  now  exercised  with  wisdom  and  discretion  by 
the  faculty  of  the  College,  so  that  the  whole  rabbinate 
may  be  served.  That  day  may  be  hastened  by  you, 
young  gentlemen,  when  you  pass  out  of  the  College  and 
assume  your  place  in  the  ranks,  if  each  one  of  you  will 
rigidly  discountenance  every  method  of  filling  pulpits 
except  the  one  which  one  of  my  colleagues  denominates 
"the  method  of  the  right  of  way,"  that  is,  the  method 
by  which  a  congregation  selects  a  man,  not  on  a  mere 
trial  sermon  or  two,  but  on  his  record  and  his  creden- 
tials supplemented  by  the  sending  of  a  committee  to 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  127 

hear  him  and  know  him  personally.  Where,  because 
of  distance  or  because  the  man  is  too  young  and 
altogether  untried,  this  is  not  feasible  and  the  trial 
sermon  is  the  only  recourse,  then  only  one  man  should 
be  called  and  he  should  have  "the  right  of  way,"  that  is, 
he  should  be  the  only  man  under  immediate  considera- 
tion until  action  be  taken.  If  he  be  rejected,  then  the 
way  should  be  open  to  the  next  available  man.  If  you 
will  insist  upon  such  a  fair  test  of  merit  you  will  help  to 
uphold  the  highest  ethical  standards  of  the  ministry 
and  reveal  your  real  attitude  towards  the  high  calling 
you  have  chosen. 

There  is,  finally,  an  ethical  problem  of  transcendent 
importance  to  which  you  will  be  obliged  to  give  con- 
sideration. It  has  reference  to  your  service  to  the  larger 
congregation  beyond  the  sanctuary  of  Israel  which  you 
must  serve — your  community,  your  city  or  town,  your 
state  and  country.  In  these  days,  the  call  of  patriotism 
rings  with  irresistible  force  in  all  our  hearts  and  our  men 
are  hastening  to  give  answer  to  the  call,  in  the  army, 
in  the  navy,  in  the  cantonments,  and  in  manifold  fields 
of  civilian  service.  When  the  war  shall  have  ended — 
God  hasten  the  day — still  greater  opportunities  will 
come  with  the  labor  of  reconstruction.  Then  the  world 
will  be  compelled  to  hark  back  to  the  program  of  our 
great  prophets.  They  were  no  mere  idle  babblers. 
Our  democratic  age  responds  to  their  mighty  protest 
against  vested  wrongs  and  their  courageous  champion- 
ship of  the  weak  and  the  oppressed.  The  inspirations 
that  welled  from  their  hearts  and  rolled  in  thundrous 
messages  from  their  lips  have  a  resistless  power  to  move 


128  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

the  ministers  of  all  denominations  today  because  of 
the  wonderfully  modern  note  sounded  by  those  most 
unique  and  extraordinary  geniuses  of  history.  The 
effort  to  emulate  the  ancient  prophets  herein,  however, 
involves  at  once  a  series  of  profound  ethical  difficulties. 

There  were  of  old  also  false  prophets  who  spoke  for 
hire,  like  those  whom  Amaziah,  the  priest  of  Beth  El, 
denounced  to  Amos ;  professional  prophets  who  curried 
favor  with  kings  and  princes,  like  Zedekiah,  who 
trained  his  prophecies  to  Hatter  King  Ahab;  visionaries 
like  those  whom  Jeremiah  castigated  with  scorn  and 
who,  in  the  deceit  of  their  hearts,  misled  their  trusting 
followers. 

There  are  many  people  today  who  speak  of  a  "hireling 
ministry."  The  old  prophets  were  men  under  no  tram- 
mels of  institutionalism.  Some  of  their  modern 
successors  seem  to  be  so  enmeshed  as  to  be  concerned 
mainly  with  efforts  to  secure  increased  salaries;  they 
covet  fees  and  gratuities  like  any  waiter;  engage  in 
unseemly  rivalries  for  securing  honors  and  promotions; 
and  commercialize  the  very  sanctuaries  by  setting  them 
in  competition  with  each  other.  Laboring  people,  we 
are  told,  ignore  the  Church  because  the  clergy  are  mere 
retainers  of  the  capitalists  and  trim  their  words  accord- 
ingly. 

The  effort  to  create  hostility  and  class  feeling  between 
capital  and  labor  can  be  best  counteracted  by  the 
ministers.  They  are  allied  with  the  workers  as  earners 
of  salaries;  they  are  allied  with  the  captains  of  industry 
as  administrators  of  affairs.  Therefore,  in  the  great 
industrial  warfare  now  being  waged,  a  supreme  oppor- 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  129 

tunity  rests  with  the  ministry.  Inasmuch  as  "nothing 
is  settled  until  it  is  settled  right,"  ultimately  every  dis- 
pute must  be  referred  to  the  arbitrament  of  that  higher 
law  of  which  the  ministry  is  the  recognized  champion 
and  guardian. 

At  the  beginning  of  these  discourses  your  attention 
was  directed  to  the  fact  that  the  title  rabbi  vested  you 
with  the  prerogatives  of  leadership.  In  the  degree  in 
which  you  achieve  leadership  among  your  own  people 
may  you  further  the  leadership  of  Israel  in  the  supreme 
task  to  which  we  have  been  set  among  the  families  of 
the  earth,  to  bless  mankind  by  hastening  the  realization 
of  the  prophetic  vision  of  the  moral  and  social  regenera- 
tion of  the  world. 


Questions  and  Answers 

Q.  You  say  a  preacher  should  preach  only  from  the 
store  of  his  sincerest  convictions.  With  so  many 
divergent  views  on  vital  questions,  religious,  social,  and 
political,  would  this  not  make  for  both  abuse  of  the 
pulpit  and  confusion  in  the  minds  of  Jews  at  large  con- 
cerning the  solution  of  the  problem  so  treated? 

A.  I  cannot  see  why.  The  world  will  always  have 
disputed  questions.  It  would  be  an  unhappy  condition 
of  affairs  if  we  should  fail  to  have  a  Beth  Hillel  and  a 
Beth  Shammai,  i.  e.,  opposing  schools  of  thought,  in 
every  generation.  It  is  the  friction  of  minds  that 
produces  the  fire  which  both  illumines  and  warms. 
The  Talmud  says:  HDS  n"DrP  nWlH  TIPD  "Truth 
is  clarified  by  discussion."  I  feel  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
man  to  speak  his  convictions  in  the  pulpit.  His  con- 
viction of  today  may  indeed  be  different  from  that  of 
ten  years  from  today.  Let  him  be  but  frank  enough  to 
admit  the  change  and  it  will  be  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
he  has  not  remained  stagnant.  A  man  has  the  right 
and  the  duty  to  advance.  I  cannot  see  why  it  should 
create  confusion  if  I  make  an  announcement  of  what  I 
feel  to  be  my  honest  attitude  towards  a  question.  It 
does  not  always  follow  that  my  hearers  will  necessarily 
fall  in  with  my  views.  They,  too,  have  convictions  of 
their  own.  The  right  to  cherish  one's  own  convictions 
is  supreme,  and  in  this  free  country  we  pride  ourselves 
especially  on  our  democratic  freedom  of  thought  and 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  131 

speech.  Though  they  have  been  somewhat  restricted 
on  account  of  the  war,  yet  we  must  conserve  and  cherish 
them  as  our  most  sacred  possessions. 

0.  You  have  treated  of  the  rabbi  as  a  minister,  as  a 
teacher,  and  as  a  preacher.  Do  you  not  think  that  the 
rabbi  should  be  qualified  to  be  a  social  worker  also? 

A.  Yes.  The  rabbi  who  is  faithful  to  his  vocation 
as  a  teacher  and  as  a  preacher  will  find  himself  coming 
into  contact  more  and  more  with  the  concerns  of  every- 
day life  and  under  the  necessity  of  expounding  the  moral 
issues  that  arise.  No  man  in  these  times  can  stand 
apart.  He  must  respond  to  the  outcries  for  justice  and 
to  the  efforts  to  improve  social  conditions. 

Our  college  recognized  the  need  for  preparing  the 
rabbi  for  an  intelligent  participation  in  philanthropic 
and  social  movements  when  Dr.  Bogen  was  appointed 
a  regular  staff  lecturer.  The  efforts  of  the  Free  Syna- 
gogue of  New  York  in  the  field  of  social  service  is 
exercising  a  notable  influence  on  other  congregations 
and  the  fellowships  offered  by  it  are  providing  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  men  to  qualify  for  such  work. 

The  sessions  of  the  National  Conference  on  Social 
Work  and  of  the  National  Conference  of  Jewish 
Charities  have  afforded  an  inspiring  opportunity  to  me 
as  to  many  other  rabbis.  The  growing  literature  on 
this  subject  and  the  periodicals  now  issued  should  be 
studied  by  every  rabbi.  A  new  profession  has  come 
into  existence,  that  of  the  social  worker.  A  number  of 
our  rabbis  have  found  their  rabbinical  training  most 
helpful  in  this  new  field  of  endeavors. 


132  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

0-     Would  you  preach  against  gambling? 

A.  With  all  my  heart.  However,  there  are  many 
ways  of  preaching.  Some  are  vital,  some  are  fatal  to 
the  object  sought.  If,  in  your  community,  you  find  a 
vice  which  is  growing  and  its  insidious  effects  are 
undermining  the  home  life  and  the  character  of  the 
individual,  it  is  your  sacred  duty  to  take  note  thereof 
and  let  the  pulpit  be  heard  from.  I  said  something  to 
you  about  moral  courage.  I  tried  to  differentiate 
between  the  moral  courage  of  standing  firm  and  fearless 
in  the  face  of  any  wrong  and  that  so-called  moral 
courage  which  is  nothing  but  cheap  bravado.  There 
are  men  in  the  pulpit  eager  to  be  in  the  limelight  every 
day,  men  who  seek  opportunities  of  every  kind  to  secure 
glaring  headlines  in  the  newspapers.  This,  as  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes,  has  never  been  effective  preaching. 
Let  the  public  know  where  you  stand,  but  before  you  go 
about  your  plan  of  eliminating  the  evil,  consult  with  the 
people  in  your  community  who  know  something  about 
the  thing  you  are  trying  to  reform  and  work  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  men  and  women  who  take  these  matters 
to  heart  and  who  are  apt  to  have  a  better  knowledge 
than  you  of  how  to  remedy  the  evil.  No  public 
question  comes  up  but  it  has  a  moral  aspect.  Yet 
there  are  few  public  questions  that  stand  out  clearly  in 
their  moral  bearing.  They  are  bound  up  with  complex 
situations,  often  so  difficult  and  trying  that  it  would  be 
most  ineffectual  for  a  man  to  handle  them  merely  from 
the  pulpit.  There  is  no  general  rule.  You  must  study 
each  case  and  use  your  best  judgment  whatever  the 
cost.  You  may  err  in  judgment  but  you  may  not  err 
in  principle. 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI     133 

Q.  Is  the  sermon  which  speaks  in  generalities  to  be 
preferred  to  the  sermon  which  treats  ethical  and  social 
problems  specifically? 

A.  Never  speak  in  mere  generalities.  People  weary 
of  them.  Tell  something  that  has  to  do  with  their  lives, 
with  the  deep  concerns  that  are  agitating  their  minds 
and  hearts.  I  am  asked  definitely,  "Should  a  man  refer 
directly  to  the  'gas  bill'  which  is  agitating  Cincinnati 
or  to  the  vice  problem  in  Philadelphia?"  I  will  say 
again  that  I  do  not  believe  in  preaching  generalities. 
It  may  be  quite  sufficient  for  the  man  hi  the  pulpit,  in 
addressing  the  people  who  are  aroused  by  some  criti- 
cism, to  indicate  with  force  and  effect  what  the  true 
moral  and  religious  standards  are.  There  are  occasions 
when  it  is  necessary  to  refer  directly  to  issues,  but  I 
can  never  quite  justify  pulpit  attacks  on  individuals. 

Let  me  illustrate.  A  few  years  ago,  there  was  a 
dreadful  car  strike  in  Philadelphia.  The  militia  had 
been  called  out.  The  streets  were  filled  with  rioters 
and  human  blood  was  spilled  and  property  destroyed. 
A  meeting  was  hastily  called.  Ministers  representing 
some  twenty-six  denominations  gathered  together. 
Something  had  to  be  done.  Action  had  to  be  taken  to 
safeguard  the  life  and  honor  of  the  community.  The 
ministers  sent  out  a  ringing  demand  to  the  disputants 
and  took  steps  to  arbitrate  between  the  strikers  and  the 
traction  company.  The  mayor  of  the  city  was  reported 
to  have  said  in  reply  to  our  communication,  "Let  the 
ministers  mind  their  own  business."  Was  not  this  our 
business?  Whose  business  was  it  more  than  ours  to 
exercise  a  vigorous  persuasive  influence  in  behalf  of  the 
sanctity  of  law,  order,  and  peace  in  critical  times? 


134  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

During  the  election  riots  of  last  year,  in  which  human 
life  was  sacrificed  and  innocent  people  blackjacked, 
when  we  had  the  dreadful  exhibition  of  gunmen 
imported  from  New  York,  what  was  more  a  minister's 
business  than  to  stand  forth  with  the  forces  of  decency? 
I  was  asked  if  I  would  offer  up  a  prayer  at  a  great  mass 
meeting  of  our  citizens  that  was  hastily  called,  and  I 
said,  "Yes,  I  will  be  at  the  meeting  at  once."  I  felt  that 
a  minister,  to  be  a  righteous  force  in  his  community, 
must  have  the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  must 
demonstrate  it;  especially  in  emergencies. 

You  do  not  always  have  a  clearly  defined  moral  issue 
before  you,  because  almost  all  public  questions  are 
bound  up  with  the  complexities  of  political  and  personal 
concerns.  Hands  off  all  personalities.  I  do  not  believe 
a  rabbi  should  "go  on  the  stump."  I  do  not  believe  a 
rabbi  should  be  a  politician.  I  made  a  comparison  in 
my  paper  between  a  rabbi  and  a  judge,  and  I  do  not 
believe  a  judge  should  go  about  electioneering.  Chief 
Justice  Hughes  resigned  his  place  on  the  bench  when  he 
accepted  the  presidential  nomination.  When  a  judge 
acts  otherwise  he  undermines  his  influence  and  authority 
in  the  community. 

The  minister  stands  for  the  embodied  character  of  the 
community.  What  a  fine  force  and  influence  he  may 
be  in  the  lives  of  the  people  as  individuals!  This  he 
endangers  when  he  lowers  himself  to  participate  in 
partisan  politics,  when  he  pulls  wires  and  engages  in 
newspaper  controversies  and  kindred  activities.  Let 
him  hold  himself  in  reserve  and  speak  with  authority 
from  the  pulpit  and  in  such  places  where  his  words  will 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  135 

be  effective,  far  reaching,  and  conclusive.  When  things 
touch  you  deeply  you  are  bound  to  preach  on  them.  I 
preached  a  sermon  on  Pesach  one  year  in  which  I  called 
attention  to  the  sweat-shop  system  and  the  evils  and 
abuses  of  child  labor.  I  talked  of  unrighteous  proceed- 
ings with  which  I  was  familiar  and  spoke  of  them  from 
personal  knowledge  after  investigation.  There  were 
men  sitting  in  front  of  me  who  had  just  such  conditions 
as  I  described  prevailing  in  their  factories.  I  did  not 
mention  any  names.  I  simply  pictured  what  existed 
and  compared  it  with  the  high  moral  standards  of 
conduct  taught  by  our  religion.  A  day  or  two  after- 
wards I  received  a  telephone  call  from  a  certain  man. 
"Can  you  come  and  see  me?"  he  asked.  "Certainly, 
I'll  be  down,"  I  replied,  and  I  was  in  his  factory  at  the 
stated  time.  He  said,  "In  your  sermon  on  Passover 
you  spoke  about  various  factories ;  let  me  show  you  our 
new  place."  He  conducted  me  through  the  building, 
from  the  roof  garden  to  the  emergency  hospital.  When 
we  returned  to  the  office,  he  gave  me  a  lecture  on  preach- 
ing sermons  about  things  of  which  I  knew  nothing.  I 
listened  quietly  and  then  said,  "My  friend,  when  I 
delivered  that  sermon  I  had  in  mind  conditions  that  are 

still  prevailing  in  the  factory  on  Street,  from 

which  you  moved  only  a  couple  of  years  ago.  Because 
you  left  that  locality  and  bettered  the  conditions  in  your 
place,  because  you  are  beginning  to  discern  the  moral 
issues  involved,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  whole  com- 
munity has  risen  to  the  same  plane  to  which  you  have 
attained  so  recently."  I  give  you  this  illustration  from 
practical  life  in  order  to  help  clarify  the  difficult  position 


136  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

of  the  minister  who  wants  to  accomplish  something  in 
the  community  in  matters  social  and  political,  as  well 
as  in  religious  affairs.  Never  take  a  stand  on  mere 
hearsay.     Be  careful  that  you  know  of  what  you  speak. 

Q.  To  what  extent  may  a  preacher  inject  into  his 
sermons  his  personal  politico-economic  faith? 

A.  I  would  say  emphatically,  to  the  extent  of  his 
honest  conviction.  He  can  never  afford  to  say  in  his 
pulpit  anything  in  contradiction  to  his  inmost  belief. 
But  a  man  is  not  to  talk  merely  for  the  sake  of  talking. 
He  must  be  prompted  by  the  earnest  desire  to  achieve 
some  good,  to  right  some  wrong.  The  question  he  must 
ask  himself  before  speaking  is:  "Will  I  accomplish 
anything  by  it?"  To  throw  out  all  sorts  of  theories, 
propositions,  and  hypotheses  will  result  in  nothing 
but  confusion  to  the  hearers.  I  gave  you  in  my  paper  a 
standard  by  which  to  guide  your  judgment  and  which, 
I  trust,  you  will  be  able  to  realize.  It  is  this:  concerning 
the  things  proven  to  be  true,  uncompromising  orthodoxy ; 
concerning  the  questions  open  to  doubt  and  subject  to 
research  and  investigation,  the  reverential,  judicial 
attitude;  concerning  things  which  have  been  disproven 
and  are  untenable,  an  attitude  radical  to  the  root.  I 
can  speak  to  my  congregation  frankly  and  fearlessly, 
though  I  know  that  my  views  are  unpopular  and  though 
I  face  dissent,  provided  that  at  all  times  I  have  a  due 
sense  of  my  responsibilities  as  a  minister,  and  provided 
that  my  utterances  be  free  from  rancor.  Let  us  work 
with  affirmations  which  will  help  build  the  spiritual  life. 

0»  Can  a  rabbi  make  really  effective  investigations 
into  factory  conditions  on  the  basis  of  which  he  may 
preach? 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  137 

A.  No,  but  he  may  accept  the  research  work  of 
specialists  who  bring  before  him  conditions  revealed 
under  sworn  testimony  and  who  carry  him  to  the  places 
where  he  can  see  for  himself  the  conditions  that  prevail 
and  that  cry  to  the  heavens  for  redress.  Therefore  I 
said  to  you,  "Never  talk  on  a  subject  until  you  are  sure 
of  your  ground."  When  newspapers  call  you  up — and 
they  will  call  you  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  perhaps — 
do  not  answer  unless  you  are  well  posted  on  the  subject. 
Hold  your  judgment  in  reserve  until  you  have  a  just 
basis  on  which  to  form  it. 

0»  To  what  extent  should  the  rabbi  in  his  private 
capacity  ally  himself  with  movements  that  claim  to  be 
practical  applications  of  prophetic  teaching? 

A.  What  our  prophets  taught  is  summarized  in 
Micha's  "Do  justice,  love  kindness,  and  walk  humbly 
with  God." — (Micah  6:8).  Every  organization  of  any 
kind  that  is  endeavoring  to  fulfill  these  great  precepts 
has  a  claim  on  the  rabbi.  You  will  not  have  been  in 
your  pulpit  very  long  before  you  will  be  invited  to 
attend  meetings  of  all  kinds.  You  will  be  expected  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  orphan  asylum,  hospital,  relief 
societies,  and  in  all  manner  of  civic,  social,  and  educa- 
tional agencies  at  work  in  the  endeavor  to  carry  out  the 
program  of  social  advancement  for  the  people,  a  program 
which  was  first  proclaimed  by  our  prophets  and  which 
is  becoming  the  passion  of  our  age.  Certainly  you 
cannot  deny  yourself  a  part  in  these  efforts  and  you 
should  eagerly  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to 
carry  your  teachings  in  the  pulpit  into  effect. 


138  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

0-  The  Reform  Temple  has  been  called  the  "rich 
man's  church."  If  the  accusation  is  true,  what  can  be 
done  to  enable  Reform  to  reach  the  masses  so  that  all 
who  will  may  come  and  pray? 

A.  A  very  good  question  and  a  very  hard  one.  I 
have  been  thinking  of  this  question  for  years  and  work- 
ing on  its  solution.  Abolish  in  your  congregation  every 
barrier  that  keeps  a  man  out.  If  the  old  method  still 
prevails  which  demands  as  a  preliminary  to  membership 
the  payment  of  an  initiation  fee,  have  it  abolished.  Do 
not  make  access  to  religion  difficult  or  put  a  financial 
barrier  in  the  way.  Nothing  has  justified  the  charge 
that  the  church  is  the  rich  man's  privilege  so  much  as 
has  the  pew  system,  under  which  the  members  are  seated 
in  first,  second,  third,  or  fourth  class  seats,  according 
to  their  commercial  rating.  We  must  obliterate  the 
outside  social  and  financial  differences  that  prevail  and 
remember  that,  however  much  or  however  little  each 
man  may  be  able  to  pay,  he  counts  for  as  much  or  as 
little  in  the  House  of  God  as  the  other.  I  believe  in  the 
plan  of  unassigned  seats,  each  person  to  make  a  free-will 
offering  according  to  his  means.  The  Federation  of 
Charities  succeeds  in  securing  its  funds  by  this  means. 
Should  the  synagogue  fail?  My  congregation  has  free 
seats  for  visitors. 

Formerly,  we  had  groups  of  people  on  the  High  Holi- 
days gathered  around  the  synagogue  seeking  access  to 
the  free  seats,  and  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  policeman 
to  keep  them  in  line.  I  spoke  to  my  people  again  and 
again  about  this  state  of  affairs.  Each  member 
declared,   "I  pay  my  dues.     I  am  interested  in  the 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  139 

congregation  not  only  on  the  High  Holidays  but 
throughout  the  year,  and  when  I  want  to  go  to  a  service 
I  am  entitled  to  my  seat.  Why  should  I  make  way 
for  a  man  who  doesn't  contribute?"  Of  course,  he  was 
in  the  right.  But  this  still  left  the  poor  man  on  the 
outside  and  provided  no  mode  for  reaching  and  winning 
the  unaffiliated.  After  some  thought,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  a  poor  business  policy  to  have  a 
school-house  idle.  I  therefore  gathered  a  group  of 
young  men  and  women  and  said  to  them:  "We  will 
organize  an  adjunct  service  and  notify  the  people  who 
cannot  find  a  place  in  the  synagogue.  We  will  let  them 
know  they  are  all  free  and  equal.  There  shall  be  no 
first  and  second  class,  but  all  shall  be  one  class  and  first 
come  first  served." 

Gentlemen,  will  you  believe  it?  We  are  now  in  our 
sixth  year  and  perhaps  a  thousand  people  attend  these 
adjunct  services  on  Yom  Kippur.  Services  are  con- 
ducted by  our  young  men  trained  by  the  rabbis  for 
this  purpose,  young  men  who  have  continued  their 
Hebrew  studies  and  can  read  the  prayers  and  the  lesson 
from  the  Torah.  We  have  a  choir  of  young  men  and 
women  who  undertake  to  learn  the  difficult  music  of  the 
holiday  service.  While  I  am  preaching  in  the  synagogue 
my  associate  is  preaching  in  the  other  place  and  we 
take  turns.  We  are  gradually  bringing  these  unaffiliated 
people  into  the  congregation  and  making  members  of 
them.  They  will  soon  be  able  to  abolish  the  old  class 
system. 

I  say,  do  everything  to  break  down  the  barrier  created 
between  the  rich  and  the  poor.     Make  it  possible  for 


140  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

the  man  who  works  on  Saturday  to  enter  the  synagogue 
on  Friday  evening  and  be  welcome.  But  neither  the 
Friday,  nor  the  Saturday,  nor  the  Sunday  morning  service 
in  the  synagogue  has  begun  to  solve  the  problem  of  the 
synagogue  and  the  working  man.  While  we  are  doing 
what  we  can  along  these  lines,  there  is  a  rich  field 
waiting  for  your  fresh  young  minds  and  energies  and 
you  might  well  dedicate  yourselves  to  its  cultivation. 

Q.  What  would  be  your  attitude  in  the  case  of  a 
family  desiring  to  become  members  of  your  congregation 
but  too  poor  to  pay  the  minimum  dues. 

A.  Instances  of  this  kind  commonly  present  them- 
selves at  the  opening  of  the  school  year.  The  necessity 
of  providing  for  the  religious  instruction  of  their 
children  impels  parents  to  bring  their  children  for 
registration.  No  child  is  refused  admission  as  long  as 
the  school  facilities  permit.  When  the  registration 
card  shows  that  the  parents  are  not  members,  the 
matter  is  at  once  referred  to  the  chairman  of  the  school 
board,  who  makes  it  his  duty  to  be  at  hand  on  registra- 
tion days.  He  has  an  earnest  conference  with  the 
parent,  pointing  out  the  expense  assumed  by  the 
congregation  in  the  education  of  the  child  or  children, 
acquainting  him  with  his  duty  and  asking  him  to  make 
a  sacrifice  for  this  purpose  if  he  can  afford  it.  When 
the  parent  openly  pleads  poverty  nothing  more  is  said 
and  the  child  is  entered  as  a  free  or  honorary  pupil. 
When  the  parent  pleads  that  the  minimum  fee  is  more 
than  he  can  afford  a  free-will  offering  is  accepted  and 
the  matter  referred  to  the  discretion  of  the  Membership 
Committee.     It  is  rarely  that  this  method  fails  to 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  141 

stimulate  towards  full  membership  and  indeed  the 
largest  growth  of  the  congregation  year  by  year  comes 
from  this  source.  We  are  thus  educating  our  people 
to  eliminate  the  commercialized  system  of  fixed  dues 
and  assigned  seats,  and  substituting  free-will  offerings 
and  unassigned  seats.  Our  Junior  Congregation  is 
conducted  on  this  plan.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Member- 
ship Committee  to  follow  up  these  matters  to  prevent 
the  unscrupulous  from  taking  advantage  of  the  gener- 
osity of  the  congregation. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  standard  in  determining 
whether  men  are  fit  for  pulpit  positions?  Personality 
cannot  be  measured  by  scholarship  or  oratory. 

A.  This  is  certainly  true,  and  for  this  reason  I 
believe  you  should  be  elected  on  your  record  after  you 
have  had  time  to  make  a  record.  It  is  well  that  the  old 
system  has  passed  away  which  prevailed  when  rabbis 
were  scarce  and  the  country  was  filled  with  men  who 
went  about  with  recommendations  secured  by  pestering 
the  kind-hearted  rabbis  of  that  day.  These  misfits 
imposed  themselves  upon  the  smaller  towns  and 
villages.  Every  schnorrer  who  came  along  and  knew 
the  Siddur  said  he  was  a  rabbi.  He  was  elected  and 
became  known  as  the  "Reverend  Doctor."  This  con- 
dition has  happily  become  obsolete  owing  largely  to  the 
establishment  of  this  college.  The  whole  standard  of 
the  ministry  has  been  raised.  This  is  true  not  only 
of  scholarship  but  also  of  tone  and  character.  By  his 
college  record  a  man  must  show  that  there  is  in  him 
some  promise  of  the  realization  of  the  ideals  and 
purposes  of  the  rabbinate.    A  congregation  today  can 


142  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

send  to  the  college  and  have  access  to  the  records  of  the 
men  who  have  spent  nine  years  within  its  walls,  and  on 
the  basis  of  these  records  of  achievement  the  congregation 
may  elect.  They  take  some  risk  and  you  take  some  risk. 
There  is  no  definite  and  assured  way  of  determining 
how  you  are  to  select  a  satisfactory  congregation  or  how 
a  congregation  is  to  select  a  satisfactory  rabbi.  Indeed, 
with  all  our  human  failings  both  will  soon  discover 
defects.  Do  not  run  away  from  a  place  because  you  find 
it  does  not  measure  up  to  your  expectations.  Rather 
stay  and  try  your  mettle  by  striving  to  raise  the  congre- 
gation to  what  you  would  have  it  be.  You  may  change 
and  change  again,  as  too  many  are  prone  to  do.  You 
will  never  find  a  community  that  is  ideal.  You  will 
but  change  one  series  of  problems  for  another. 

Q.  What  other  legitimate  and  moral  ways  of  apply- 
ing for  positions  may  be  mentioned? 

A.  I  can  answer  only  by  saying  that  I  have  never 
had  experience  of  any  other  ways.  In  earlier  days, 
there  were  so  many  pulpits  vacant  that  one  had  the 
privilege  of  choosing.  Now  that  the  colleges  have 
supplied  the  need  to  such  a  great  extent,  these  issues 
have  become  more  acute.  Your  own  judgment,  your 
own  sense  of  what  is  right,  will  dictate  to  you  not  to 
engage  in  any  underhand,  illegitimate,  or  political 
schemes  to  secure  a  place.  I  was  prompted  to  say  what 
I  did  in  my  paper  because  at  the  Conferences  there  have 
come  to  the  surface  revelations  of  matters  concerning 
the  filling  of  vacant  pulpits  which  have  made  me  feel 
sad  indeed.  Having  been  invited  to  come  here,  I  felt 
that  the  opportunity  and  the  place  were  accorded  me  to 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  143 

try  to  set  in  your  minds  and  hearts  such  principles  as 
may  help  you  form  a  standard  of  your  own  and  resolve 
to  live  up  to  it  no  matter  what  other  men  may  do  and  no 
matter  how  some  may  lower  themselves  for  the  sake  of 
getting  ahead. 

Q.  Should  a  rabbi  taken  into  a  congregation  require 
a  written  contract? 

A.  I  have  never  had  a  written  contract  other  than 
the  letters  that  passed  between  the  Board  of  Officers 
and  me.  I  know  my  predecessor  had  a  formal  contract 
when  he  came  from  Europe.  There  were  reasons  for 
this.  When  a  man  breaks  up  his  home  and  emigrates 
to  a  foreign  country,  transfers  himself  and  his  family  to 
a  strange  place  and  among  people  of  whom  he  has  no 
personal  knowledge,  probably  it  is  well  to  have  a  written 
understanding — well  for  both  sides.  It  appears  to  me, 
however,  that  if  the  ethics  of  the  ministry  mean  any- 
thing, clearly  defined  verbal  agreements  ought  to  be 
sufficient  for  both  sides.  I  would  answer  this  question, 
then,  by  saying  that  I  see  no  necessity  for  a  written 
arrangement,  although  no  harm  can  be  done  by  having 
one.  You  would  thereby  evade  possible  misunder- 
standings, and  it  might,  in  many  instances,  prove 
mutually  advantageous. 

Q.  Would  you  advise  a  rabbi  to  insist  on  the  right 
and  the  privilege  of  attending  the  business  sessions  of 
the  congregation  and  its  Board  of  Directors? 

A.  Not  insist,  but  request.  There  is  a  great 
difference.  In  your  relations  with  your  congregation, 
do  not  put  yourself  into  an  insistent  attitude.  Why 
create  antagonism?     Remember  that  you  are  dealing 


144  THE  RABBIS  CAREER 

with  your  friends,  not  with  your  foes.  I  said  to  the 
president  of  my  congregation,  "I  should  like  the  privi- 
lege of  attending  a  Board  meeting."  "Delighted, 
Doctor,"  he  replied,  "Next  Tuesday."  The  following 
Tuesday  I  was  present  and  when  I  entered  the  room  the 
men  gathered  about  the  board  looked  at  me  in  surprise. 
A  rabbi  coming  to  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors! 
They  had  never  heard  of  such  a  thing.  The  meeting 
went  on  and  the  president  very  courteously  turned  to 
me,  stating,  "We  have  the  Doctor  with  us  and  perhaps 
he  wants  to  say  something."  I  said,  "Yes,  I  asked  for 
the  privilege  because  I  wished  to  say  something."  I 
told  them  I  was  undertaking  to  work  for  their  congre- 
gation, that  I  had  pledged  myself  to  its  interest  with  all 
the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  I  possessed  and  that  I  therefore 
wanted  to  be  in  a  position  to  serve  them  best.  As  it 
was,  I  was  an  outsider  and  obliged  to  know  what  the 
Board  was  doing  through  hearsay.  I  stated  that  it 
would  be  difficult  for  me  to  work  for  the  building  up  of 
the  congregation  socially,  financially,  religiously,  or  in 
any  way,  if  I  were  to  be  kept  an  outsider.  I  said,  "I 
want  to  work  with  you  men.  I  do  not  mean  "meddle" 
with  private  or  executive  matters.  I  am  not  interested 
in  knowing  whether  such  and  such  a  man  pays  his  dues 
or  not,  but  I  want  to  know  everything  that  can  aid  me 
in  furthering  the  growth  of  the  congregation."  At  that 
meeting  I  was  made  an  honorary  member  and  have 
attended  the  meetings  ever  since.  Generally,  I  find 
that  when  I  am  away  errors  are  apt  to  occur  in  dealing 
specifically  with  questions  of  religion  or  those  referring 
to  Jewish  matters  on  which  our  business  men  are  not 
apt  to  be  well  posted. 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI  145 

0-  As  a  member  of  your  own  Board  of  Directors, 
what  would  you  do  when  the  question  of  your  salary  or 
contract  arises? 

A.  When  a  question  arises  that  has  anything  to  do 
with  me  personally  and  is  to  come  before  the  Board, 
the  president  simply  gives  me  an  intimation.  He 
telephones  to  me  and  says,  "Doctor,  don't  come  to  the 
meeting  tonight."  I  am  not  a  fool,  so  I  stay  away. 
What  I  mean  to  say  is,  try  to  be  helpful.  Do  not  force 
yourself  unduly  into  official  matters. 

Q.  What  arrangements  should  be  made  for  a  vaca- 
tion? 

A.  This  is  a  local  matter.  No  rabbi,  unless  he  has 
a  contract  to  that  effect,  is  entitled  to  a  vacation  any 
more  than  a  business  man  is.  To  be  granted  a  vacation 
is  a  matter  of  courtesy  and  I  know  of  no  congregation 
which  does  not  extend  this  courtesy  to  the  rabbi.  It  is 
not  a  right  you  can  exact.  Your  services  are  given  to 
your  congregation  as  they  are  needed.  In  your  com- 
munity the  angel  of  death  will  not  wait  until  you  return 
from  your  vacation.  You  probably  will  be  needed  for 
a  funeral.  Marriages  and  other  functions  may,  by 
friendly  agreement,  be  deferred. 

I  very  strongly  dissent  from  those  who  close  up  the 
synagogue  and  suspend  religious  services  during  the 
vacation  period.  The  congregation  is  the  organized 
medium  for  the  expression  of  the  religious  life  of  a 
community  and  we  have  no  right  to  close  our  doors  in 
the  face  of  any  soul  seeking  for  the  spiritual  comfort 
and  strength  that  may  come  from  participation  in 
communal  worship.   When  you  go  away,  make  some 


146  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

arrangement  whereby  divine  services  may  be  carried  on 
in  an  acceptable  form  by  some  one  who,  in  some  fair 
degree,  is  equal  to  the  task.  That  community  is  poor 
indeed  in  which  some  layman  cannot  be  found  who 
may  be  trained  for  the  duty.  In  large  cities,  the  rabbi 
engages  a  substitute  or  makes  an  arrangement  with  his 
colleagues  of  sister  congregations. 

Q.  In  such  communities  where  rabbis  hold  dia- 
metrically opposite  views  on  the  same  question,  is  it 
more  advisable  for  them  to  agree  mutually  to  maintain 
silence  concerning  the  disputed  question,  or  would  you 
countenance  their  continual  squabbling,  thereby  turn- 
ing the  pulpit  into  a  debating  forum?  Is  not  such  a 
procedure  a  waste  of  time  and  energy  which  might 
better  be  spent  in  proclaiming  the  higher  truths  of 
Judaism? 

A.  I  believe  that  squabbling  is  always  out  of  order, 
in  the  pulpit  and  out.  You  and  I  might  disagree  on 
issues  concerning  which  we  feel  very  deeply  and  happen 
to  hold  views  diametrically  opposite,  yet  there  would 
be  no  excuse  for  our  squabbling.  We  might  maintain 
our  views  openly,  and  frankly,  and  fearlessly,  but 
always  as  gentlemen.  Let  me  give  you  a  little  admoni- 
tion out  of  thirty-five  years  experience.  Make  this 
your  motto:  "Measures,  not  men."  This  was  the 
motto  of  the  great  religious  parliament  held  in  Chicago 
during  the  Columbian  Exposition  in  1893.  Fight 
measures  with  all  the  strength  you  possess,  but  differen- 
tiate between  measures  and  men.  They  who  hold 
opposing  views  may  be  just  as  honest,  honorable,  and 
sincere  as  you.     Therefore,  give  them  credit  for  the 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI     147 

uprightness  of  their  convictions,  and  thus  show  yourself 
to  be  a  worthy  opponent.  Personalities  are  never 
defensible. 

Q.  What  sort  of  an  arrangement  or  contract  should 
be  made  between  the  senior  and  the  junior  rabbi? 

A.  I  was  asked  this  question  recently  by  one  of  my 
colleagues  who  was  about  to  arrange  with  a  young  man 
from  the  College  to  be  his  assistant.  He  asked  me  what 
arrangement  I  had  with  the  man  who  shares  my  pulpit 
about  dividing  the  work,  etc.  I  wrote  back  that  we 
have  no  arrangements.  We  try  to  help  each  other  out. 
I  know  that  it  is  possible  for  two  men,  who  are  gentlemen, 
to  get  along  amicably  in  the  pulpit  as  well  as  at  the  bar 
or  in  a  factory.  Unless  there  be  a  basis  of  mutual  con- 
fidence and  equal  loyalty  to  their  work  the  written 
contract  would  be  of  little  avail. 

Q.  What  should  be  the  relation  between  the  rabbi 
and  the  ministers  of  other  denominations? 

A.  The  rabbi  ought  to  seek  every  opportunity  to 
fraternize  with  the  leaders  of  other  denominations, 
because  this  is  the  way  to  remove  from  each  other's 
minds  the  ignorance  which  is  the  root  of  so  many  preju- 
dices. We  have  a  club  in  Philadelphia  called  the 
"Liberal  Club,"  made  up  of  laymen  and  clergymen  of 
various  denominations.  We  have  representatives  of 
Friends,  Unitarians,  Episcopalians,  Baptists,  Presby- 
terians, and  various  other  churches,  and  a  number  of 
rabbis  and  several  Jewish  professors  attend.  We  meet 
at  a  luncheon  every  other  week.  We  have  discussions 
at  which  we  take  up  all  sorts  of  live  questions  of  common 
interest.   I  never  stay  away  if  I  can  possibly  help  it,  for 


148  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

I  find  that  the  moment  a  Jew  is  present  the  atmosphere 
is  changed.  The  usual  attitude  of  patronage  and  criticism 
is  immediately  modified  and  one  of  respectful  consider- 
ation for  the  other  man's  point  of  view  invades  the 
assembly.  Moreover,  I  find  that  my  horizon  is  greatly 
widened  and  my  knowledge  enriched  by  the  respectful 
interchange  of  views  among  men  whose  convictions 
differ  so  much  from  those  I  hold.  Best  of  all,  we  learn 
to  respect  differences  while  emphasizing  agreements, 
and  thereby  find  the  basis  for  much  helpful  co-operation. 

Q.  Should  Christians  be  given  places  in  Jewish 
choirs? 

A.  This  question  seems  somewhat  remote  from  the 
topic  we  have  been  considering.  Nevertheless,  I  shall 
be  glad  to  give  you  my  best  thought  on  the  subject. 
We  must  pay  regard  to  two  aspects  of  the  question, 
viz.,  that  which  concerns  the  artistic  and  that  which 
concerns  the  religious  motive. 

Organist,  choir-master,  singers,  and  music  committee 
are  naturally  bent  on  providing  the  most  impressive 
and  artistic  musical  service  with  which  to  attune  the 
hearts  of  the  worshipers  to  prayer.  The  high  standard 
of  the  music  is  with  them  the  chief  desideratum;  the 
beliefs  or  unbeliefs  of  the  singers  do  not  enter  into  their 
consideration.  It  is  argued  with  fairness  that  music  is 
the  one  universal  language  of  mankind.  It  alone 
obliterates  all  differences  of  race,  creed,  and  caste 
and  realizes  the  aim  of  religion  to  unite  all  human 
beings  in  worship  of  their  common  Father.  Indeed, 
Christian  singers  in  Jewish  choirs,  and  Jewish  singers 
in  Christian  choirs,  are  extending  a  mutual  service  of 


ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  RABBI     149 

courtesy  and  good-fellowship  akin  to  that  which  is 
shown  by  rabbis  and  clergymen  who  in  these  days 
frequently  exchange  pulpits.  There  is  an  emphasis  on 
their  agreements  and  a  tacit  understanding  with  regard 
to  those  things  on  which  they  disagree. 

There  is  this  difference,  however,  namely,  that  "the 
mutual  service  of  courtesy"  has  its  limits.  We  must  not 
deprive  the  worship  of  that  complete  and  thorough- 
going honesty  essential  to  a  divine  service,  i.  e.  let  none 
of  the  factors  descend  to  mere  formalism.  Therefore, 
the  participation  of  persons  of  a  different  faith  as  singers, 
or  in  any  other  capacity,  should  be  regarded  only  as 
a  temporary  expedient.  Our  efforts  should  be  exerted 
towards  encouraging  and  cultivating  the  participation 
of  Jewish  singers  in  our  choirs.  The  Boy  Choir  and 
the  Junior  Choir  are  the  direct  results  of  efforts  in  this 
direction  by  my  congregation. 

Q.  When  invited  to  a  meal  at  a  strange  house, 
would  you  offer  to  say  grace  unless  especially  asked  to 
do  so? 

A.  As  a  matter  of  courtesy,  the  host  should  invite 
the  minister  to  give  expression  to  the  sentiment  of 
gratitude  before  partaking  of  nature's  bounties.  When 
the  host  does  not  extend  this  courtesy,  the  minister 
cannot  with  propriety  demand  it.  Moreover,  unless 
it  be  mere  thoughtlessness,  the  inference  must  be  that 
the  host  and  his  family  are  not  in  sympathy  with  this 
religious  act.  To  compel  it  would,  therefore,  be  some- 
what intolerant  on  the  part  of  the  minister.  Moreover, 
it  would  be  a  barren  formula,  robbed  of  its  warmth  and 
significance,  if  it  were  merely  tolerated  and  not  shared 


150  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

in  by  the  company.  While  it  should  be  the  aim  of  the 
minister  to  keep  all  occasions  upon  a  plane  above  the 
common-place  or  vulgar,  let  him  not  carry  his  pulpit 
about  with  him,  as  it  were,  and  protrude  his  profession 
on  others.  When  you  are  on  sufficiently  familiar  terms 
with  the  family  you  may  fittingly  volunteer  this  service. 

0 .  Do  you  consider  it  j  ust  for  ministers  and  divinity 
students  to  be  exempted  from  military  service? 

A.  The  patriotic  impulse  which  prompts  this 
inquiry  does  credit  to  the  questioner.  The  government 
has  given  the  answer.  This  answer  I  should  not  inter- 
pret as  a  slur  on  the  ministry  or  as  an  injustice  but,  on 
the  contrary,  as  a  profound  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
in  war,  as  in  peace,  the  best  service  that  the  men  in  our 
profession  can  render  is  the  one  for  which  they  are 
trained. 

This  war  has  brought  out  more  clearly  than  was  ever 
apprehended  before,  the  fact  that  the  men  at  the  front 
are  helpless  unless  there  be  men,  and  women,  too,  who 
serve  behind  the  lines.  We  have  mobilized  not  alone 
our  naval  and  military  forces,  but  our  whole  industrial 
army  of  workers.  Shall  we  value  less  the  army  of 
workers  for  the  spiritual  interests  of  men,  those  who  are 
the  ultimate  guardians  of  the  great  moral  principles  for 
which  we  are  at  war?  The  religious  leaders  and  those 
who  aspire  to  become  such  have  as  their  responsibility 
the  supreme  task  of  keeping  the  fires  of  inspiration 
burning  and  of  leading  in  the  sublime,  spiritual  exper- 
iences of  sacrifice,  endurance  for  principle,  and  the 
exacting  offices  of  uplifting  the  depressed,  comforting 
the  bereft,  and  bearing  the  burdens  of  the  heavy  laden. 
The  most  trying  tasks  are  reserved  for  the  ministers. 


ISAAC  M.WISE,  PIONEER  LEADER  OF 
AMERICAN  ISRAEL* 

AS  though  it  were  yesterday,  this  hour  revives  the 
y\  memory  of  the  last  time  many  of  us  gathered  here, 
nineteen  years  ago  today.  Then  we  came  to  cluster 
about  the  silent  form  of  our  master  and  to  receive  into 
our  souls  the  last  message  of  his  presence  on  earth. 
That  message  spake  with  undying  eloquence  from  the 
mute  lips  of  Death.  These  consecrated  walls  re-echoed 
the  grief  that  welled  from  our  hearts  and  that  found 
expression  in  the  solemn  chant  whose  words  he  himself 
had  composed  for  the  Memorial  service  of  the  great 
Atonement  Day: 

"Es  leben  deine  Todtenl 
Sie  schweben  zu  dir  nieder 
Als  sanfte  Friedensboten." 
The  inspirations  of  that  deathless  hope  had  been  borne 
into  his  soul  by  the  sublime  prophecy  of  Isaiah  (26 :19) : 


♦Centenary  Address  by  Dr.  Henry  Berkowitz  delivered  at  the  thirtieth  session 
of  the  Central  Conference  of  American  Rabbis  in  the  pulpit  of  Congregation 
B'nai  Jeshurun  (Plum  Street  Temple),  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  April  2,  1919. 

The  lectures  on  "Intimate  Glimpses  of  the  Rabbi's  Career"  were  addressed 
specifically  to  young  American  Rabbis  and  those  preparing  to  enter  the  minis- 
try. Their  careers  were  made  possible  through  the  vision,  the  inspiration  and 
the  labors  of  Dr.  Isaac  M.Wise.  His  career  is  the  outstanding  example  and 
vitally  illuminates  all  the  problems  of  the  American  Rabbi.  As  an  offering  of 
gratitude  to  his  memory  this  Centenary  discourse  is  therefore  published  here 
with  the  permission  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  C.C.A.R. 


152  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

"Thy  dead  shall  live — they  wake  and  sing  for  joy! 
For  thy  dew  is  refreshing  as  the  dew  at  daybreak, 
When  earth's  shadows  shall  flit  away." 

Verily,  like  the  dew  at  dawn  has  the  divine  favor,  day 
by  day  renewed  within  our  hearts  the  spirit  of  our  great 
teacher.  As  the  shadows  of  misjudgment  and  misun- 
derstanding have  flitted  away,  more  and  more  brilliantly 
has  the  light  of  his  spirit  gleamed  forth  in  luminous 
blessings.  That  light  was  kindled  one  hundred  years 
ago  on  this  night  in  the  little  village  of  Steingrub, 
Bohemia. 

So  far  across  a  darkened  world  that  little  flame  hath 
shed  its  beams.  We  who  kindled  our  torches  with  its 
fire,  who  guided  our  pathways  by  its  light,  and  cheered 
our  hearts  by  its  glow,  now  come  from  all  parts  of  the 
land  to  unite  on  this  Anniversary  Day  in  a  tribute  of 
honor  and  gratitude,  whose  fullness  no  words  can 
adequately  express.  How  that  flame  was  nourished, 
what  clouds  and  mists  its  rays  were  destined  to  pierce, 
what  darkness  to  dispel,  and  what  blessings  to  radiate, 
we  would  recount  with  reverent  thankfulness.  A 
general  survey  is  all  I  can  venture  to  offer  by  way  of 
introduction  to  the  detailed  treatment  of  the  various 
phases  of  the  life-work  of  Dr.  Wise,  to  be  presented  in 
the  succeeding  sessions  of  the  Conference. 

Three  great  tides  of  new  influence  passed  into  the 
life  currents  of  the  world  during  the  century  we  are 
reviewing.  By  them  the  career  of  Dr.  Wise  was 
mightily  determined.  These  were  the  forces  that  inau- 
gurated, first,  the  political  emancipation;  second,  the 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  153 

intellectual  freedom;  and  Finally,  the  religious  reforma- 
tion of  the  Jew  from  the  thralldom  of  medievalism. 
Into  these  currents  Dr.  Wise  directed  the  course  of  his 
people.  The  rare  gifts  with  which  he  had  been  divinely 
endowed  gave  him  the  vision,  clearer  than  that  of  any 
of  his  contemporaries,  and  the  vigor,  more  lusty  in 
energy  and  more  powerful  in  execution,  that  made  him, 
as  all  now  freely  acknowledge,  the  pioneer  leader  of 
American  Israel.  The  movement  for  political  emanci- 
pation had  its  earliest  beginnings  with  the  rise  of  the 
Netherlands.  It  was  first  clearly  proclaimed  in  America 
through  our  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  burst 
forth  in  the  excesses  of  the  French  Revolution,  and, 
sweeping  through  the  lands  of  Western  Europe,  brought 
the  first  measure  of  freedom  to  the  Jew.  The  great 
intellectual  upheaval  that  created  the  modern  scientific 
era  took  its  origin  in  Great  Britain.  It  found  its 
broadest  unfoldment  in  this  western  world.  Here  it  pro- 
vided fullest  opportunities  of  participation  for  the  Jew. 
The  movement  for  Religious  Reform  brought  into  exis-  * 
tence  the  liberal  branches  of  Christianity.  Among  the 
Jews  it  received  its  earliest  impulse  in  the  influences 
that  flowed  from  the  brilliant  friendship  of  that  noble 
Jew,  Moses  Mendelssohn  and  that  peerless  Christian 
champion  of  religious  freedom,  Ephraim  Gotthold 
Lessing.  But  the  Reform  which  had  its  rise  in  the 
post-Mendelssohnian  era  in  Germany  developed  in 
America  along  independent  lines.  Under  the  leadership 
of  Dr.  Wise  it  became  distinctively  hostile  to  the 
transplanting  of  either  German  or  any  other  form  of 
old-world  Judaism  to  American  soil.     They  are,  there- 


154  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

fore,  entirely  in  error  who,  today,  declare  that  American 
Reform  Judaism  came  "out  of  the  poisonous  atmosphere 
of  Germany." 

Just  one  hundred  years  ago,  after  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  the  reactionaries  came  into  control.  The 
high  hopes  that  had  been  aroused  by  the  steady  progress 
of  political  emancipation  were  dashed  to  the  earth. 
Scenes  of  pillage  and  persecution  were  witnessed  in  the 
towns  of  Germany.  The  "Hep!  Hep!"  cry  resounded 
about  the  cradle  of  Isaac  M.  Wise.  When  he  was  a 
boy  of  twelve  years  of  age  he  was  already  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  revolt  against  the  whole  German  system.  In 
1831  there  fell  into  his  hands  a  publication  issued  by 
Gabriel  Riesser,  of  Hamburg,  the  most  courageous 
advocate  of  human  rights  in  his  day.  The  little  book 
was  eagerly  devoured  by  the  lad  in  secret.  "I  then 
learned  in  that  distant  village  of  Rohemia,"  he  wrote 
when  commenting  on  Riesser' s  visit  to  the  United 
States  in  1856,  "that  the  Jew  also  had  inborn  human 
rights  that  must  be  respected.  I  still  remember  how 
boldly  he  told  the  truth  to  those  German  county  squires, 
soldiers,  and  pikemen.  Frequently  I  wept  at  the 
wrongs  he  set  forth  and  the  mighty  language  with  which 
he  castigated  them." 

The  legal  disabilities  of  the  Jews  and  the  consequent 
hardships  weighed  heavily  on  the  youth,  ambitious  to 
secure  an  education.  We  see  him  bravely  faring  forth 
afoot  to  the  capital  city  of  Prague,  carrying  his  little 
bundle  of  clothes  and  equipped  with  twenty-seven 
kreutzers  in  his  pocket.  When  we  consider  the  hard- 
ships of  those  early  years  (over  which  he  so  willingly 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  155 

drew  the  veil  of  oblivion)  we  may  realize  how  fortunate 
were  we,  his  students,  in  the  privileges  we  enjoyed 
under  his  fatherly  solicitude.  It  was  through  his  own 
indomitable  industry  and  courage  and  the  helpful  aid  of 
his  teachers,  especially  Solomon  Judah  Rappaport  and 
Isaac  Noah  Mannheimer,  that  these  trials  were  success- 
fully combatted.  In  1842,  at  twenty- three  years  of 
age,  he  received  the  Semicha  and  was  called  to  officiate 
as  rabbi  at  Radnitz. 

His  independent  spirit  speedily  asserted  itself  in  his 
public  life.  The  cruel  and  inhuman  restriction  which 
limited  the  number  of  marriages  among  the  Jews  he 
openly  violated.  Summoned  before  the  imperial 
council  at  Prague  he  boldly  denounced  the  law  as 
immoral.  His  brave  stand  brought  about  its  ultimate 
abrogation.  His  position  grew  steadily  more  irksome. 
He  told  in  later  years  of  how,  dispirited  and  heart-sick 
at  the  stifling  of  his  ideals,  he  yearned  to  break  away 
into  a  freer  atmosphere.  In  vain,  prudence  sounded  its 
warning  note  from  the  lips  of  his  beloved  young  wife 
and  dependent  child. 

In  an  antiquarian  book  store  in  the  city  of  Prague  he 
found  a  collection  of  American  English  prints  with  a  set 
of  journals  from  the  year  1780-1790.  They  were  the 
letters  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Federal  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
"I  purchased  the  whole  set,"  wrote  Dr.  Wise,  a  half  cen- 
tury later.  "I  read  them  with  the  heart  perhaps  more 
than  with  the  reason.  That  literature  made  of  me  a 
naturalized  American  in  the  interior  of  Rohemia.  It 
inspired  in  me  the  resolution  to  go  to  America,  and, 


156  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

against  the  will  of  my  friends,  I  did  go  and  my  family 
with  me." 

Perhaps  the  most  pathetic  moment  in  the  history  of 
the  young  immigrant  was  that  of  the  disillusionment 
which  came  to  him  after  his  arrival  on  these  shores  in 
1846.  With  the  glowing  fancy  of  the  poet,  he  had  con- 
ceived so  exalted  an  idea  of  the  land  of  freedom  that 
when  face  to  face  with  the  sordidness  and  pettiness  of 
the  realities  he  found  and  the  discouraging  counsels  of 
those  he  met,  his  heart  sank  and  gloom  enveloped  his 
soul.  Out  of  this  torpor  he  was  roused  by  Dr.  Max 
Lilienthal,  then  officiating  in  New  York.  To  him,  after 
some  hesitancy,  he  had  presented  his  letters  of  introduc- 
tion. Those  of  us  who  recall  the  inspiring  personality 
of  Dr.  Lilienthal,  his  noble  bearing,  the  geniality  of  his 
spirit,  the  ardent  enthusiasm  that  flowed  from  his  every 
utterance,  will  readily  understand  the  tribute  paid  when 
in  his  "Reminiscences"  (p.  19-20)  Dr.  Wise  later  wrote: 
"The  impression  I  received  in  the  Lilienthal  home 
perhaps  decided  my  career  in  America." 

It  was  then  that  he  proved  himself  the  man  of  far- 
reaching  vision.  Leaving  the  lowlands  of  gloom  and 
despair  and  clambering  to  the  Pisgah  heights  of  the 
prophetic  outlook,  he  peered  far  into  the  future.  Like 
Moses,  whom  the  Midrash  portrays  as  casting  his  eyes 
from  Mount  Nebo  over  the  Promised  Land  and  fore- 
casting the  great  events  which,  under  Providence,  were 
there  to  be  unfolded,  so  Dr.  Wise,  in  vivid  anticipation, 
planned  the  creation  in  this  promised  land  of  a  glorious 
future  for  American  Israel.  With  characteristic  vigor 
he  set  himself  at  once  to  translating  his  vision  into  a 
reality.     He  had  found  his  life's  work. 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  157 

He  was  to  transform  the  Jew  in  America  into  an 
American  Jew.  He  found  the  Jew  here  still  a  European. 
There  were  groups  differentiated  according  to  the  lands 
from  which  they  had  migrated.  There  were  the  earliest 
comers,  the  Sephardim  or  Spanish-Portuguese  Jews, 
Dutch  Jews,  German  Jews,  Polish  Jews.  These  groups 
held  aloof  from  each  other  and  in  their  separate  congre- 
gations kept  up  the  distinct  Minhagim,  the  customs  and 
rituals  of  these  foreign  countries.  Moreover,  the 
timorous,  hunted,  temper  of  the  European  Ghetto  still 
clung  to  them — whom  Longfellow  depicted  as  "The 
Ishmaels  and  Hagars  of  mankind." 

To  raise  the  Jew  to  self-consciousness;  to  make  him 
realize  that  he,  the  heir  of  noble  traditions,  had  come  at 
last  into  the  heritage  of  freedom  and  was  no  longer  an 
outcast;  to  make  him  lift  up  his  head  and  walk  erect,  a 
man  among  men ;  to  feel  in  every  pulse-beat  of  the  Jew- 
ish heart  an  answering  throb  to  the  inspirations  of  the 
New  World — this  was  the  ambition  that  filled  the  heroic 
soul  of  our  master.  Into  that  cause  he  flung  his  whole 
being  and  with  unremitting  zeal  he  labored  unselfishly 
for  its  achievement  to  the  end  of  his  days.  Already,  in 
1848,  he  issued  a  challenge  to  the  American  Israelites  to 
assert  themselves.  He  scouted  their  cowardice,  he 
stirred  up  the  public  press,  he  organized  indignation 
meetings,  and  combatted  fearlessly  every  encroachment 
on  the  civil,  political,  social,  and  religious  rights  of  the 
Jew  here  and  abroad.  He  demanded  the  full  applica- 
tion of  the  fundamentals  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, the  complete  separation  of  Church  and  State, 
and  the  removal  of  every  discrimination  against  citizens 


158  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

because  of  their  religious  faith.  In  the  whole  long 
history  of  that  courageous  fight  he  was  the  pioneer  and 
leader.  From  the  very  first  he  clearly  saw  that  but 
little  could  be  achieved  by  individuals  alone  and  by 
spasmodic  efforts.  He  pleaded,  he  argued,  he  tried,  he 
failed,  he  tried  again  and  again,  to  unite  the  forces  of 
American  Israel,  until  at  last,  in  1873,  the  Union  of 
American  Hebrew  Congregations  was  formed.  Among 
its  cardinal  objects  it  undertook  to  provide  means  for 
the  relief  of  the  Jews  against  unjust  discriminations. 
To  that  end  the  "Board  of  Civil  and  Religious  Rights" 
was  created  and  has  been  the  official  medium  through 
which  our  Americanism  has  at  all  times  been  manfully 
and  effectively  asserted.  It  has  stimulated  into  being 
the  American  Jewish  Committee  and  kindred  agencies. 
In  the  heart  of  this  achievement  lay  a  still  deeper 
purpose.  The  Union  was  to  bring  to  American  Israel  its 
vital  participation  in  that  second  trend  of  mighty  influ- 
ences that  had  come  to  recreate  the  intellectual  life  of 
the  world.  "July  1st,  1858,  separates  two  epochs  in 
the  history  of  human  thought,"  said  that  eminent 
scholar,  the  late  lamented  Andrew  D.  White,  in  his 
"History  of  the  Warfare  of  Science"  (Vol.  I,  p.  67).  On 
that  day,  two  papers  were  presented  at  a  session  of  the 
Linnean  Society  of  London,  one  written  by  Alfred 
Russel  Wallace,  the  other  by  Charles  Darwin.  Inde- 
pendently and  after  years  of  research  in  widely  separate 
parts  of  the  globe,  both  had  made  similar  discoveries  in 
natural  history,  and,  without  the  knowledge  of  each 
other,  the  two  friends  had  reached  identical  conclusions 
and  promulgated  the   Doctrine  of  Evolution.     Then 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  159 

came  that  second  great  movement  of  the  past  century. 
A  total  revolution  of  thought  was  instituted  in  every 
domain  of  human  experience  and  research. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  today  to  put  ourselves  into  that 
attitude  of  mind  which  prevailed  before  the  law  of 
development  was  discovered  as  operative,  not  alone  in 
nature,  but  also  in  history.  Now  that  that  principle  is 
regarded  as  axiomatic,  it  is  impossible  for  us  fully  to 
visualize  the  intensity  of  the  intellectual  combat  that 
raged  among  the  thinking  men  of  the  generation  to 
which  Dr.  Wise  belonged. 

One  day,  in  his  office,  I  saw  him  reach  across  his  desk, 
setting  to  one  side  a  great  mass  of  theological  and  other 
papers,  and  selecting  for  perusal  a  leading  American 
scientific  journal.  "What!"  I  asked  in  surprise,  "Do 
you  find  time  to  read  a  journal  of  this  kind,  too?" 
With  his  genial  smile  he  replied  that  he  could  better 
afford  to  neglect  all  the  other  periodicals  than  this  which 
brought  to  him  the  real  revelations  of  God's  work  in  the 
world.  This  reply  was  peculiarly  significant,  for  it 
revealed  an  attitude  of  mind  towards  the  new  scientific 
school  of  thought  quite  at  variance  with  that  which  was 
general.  In  the  Church  panic  reigned.  Ecclesiastics 
of  all  Christian  sects,  in  all  lands,  were  united  in  denounc- 
ing the  advocates  of  the  new  theory  as  infidels,  heretics 
and  atheists.  The  Doctrine  of  Evolution  was  declared 
to  contradict  the  record  of  creation  in  Genesis.  The 
trumpets  of  alarm  proclaimed  that  violent  hands  were 
being  laid  on  the  authority  of  Holy  Writ,  Biblical 
criticism,  product  of  the  spirit  of  free  inquiry  and 
research,  was  denounced  as  anathema. 


160  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

The  Reform  synagogue  was  not  torn  by  any  such 
violent  conflicts.  The  old  Mother  of  Religions  had 
heard  many  kindred  outcries  in  the  past.  The  descen- 
dants of  those  who  had  for  generations  pondered  the 
searching  questions  of  Job,  who  had  calmly  met  the 
cynic  skepticism  of  Koheleth  and  had  patiently  followed 
the  intricate  reasoning  of  the  sages  of  the  Talmud  and 
their  successors,  kept  their  poise.  "Judaism,"  says 
James  Darmstetter  (Selected  Essays,  p.  274),  "is  the 
only  religion  that  has  never  entered  into  conflict  and 
never  can  enter  into  conflict  with  either  science  or  social 
progress,  that  has  witnessed  all  their  conquests  without 
a  sense  of  fear.  It  salutes  with  joy  the  old  familiar 
voices  it  has  heard  for  centuries." 

Intoxicated  by  their  many  successes,  scientists,  led 
by  Karl  Vogt  and  Ludwig  Ruechner,  in  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  over-hastily  asserted  the  Triumph 
of  Materialism.  In  the  spirit  of  the  great  rationalistic 
Jewish  Philosophers  consecrated  fearlessly  to  the  search 
after  truth ;  in  the  spirit  of  Philo,  Saadiah,  Maimonides, 
Spinoza,  Mendelssohn,  did  the  creative  minds  in  Israel 
also  accept  the  new  challenge  of  the  new  day.  With 
them  Dr.  Wise  set  himself  to  do  his  part  in  separating 
the  false  from  the  true  and  in  clarifying  the  eternal 
harmony  that  reveals  God  alike  in  the  sublimities  of 
the  orderly  course  of  nature  and  in  the  reason  and  con- 
science of  man.  "Fear  not  the  progress  of  science!" 
I  still  hear  him  call  in  resonant  tones  from  this  pulpit. 
"Dread  not  the  discoveries  of  philosophy.  Re  not 
terrified  by  the  necessity  of  advancing  from  error  to 
truth,  for  Truth  is  deathless."     His  studies  and  reflec- 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  161 

tions  of  many  years  were  set  forth  in  his  fundamental 
philosophy,  "The  Cosmic  God"  (1876) .  At  the  summit 
of  his  intellectual  vigor,  in  1893,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year 
of  his  age,  he  summarized  his  deepest  thought  and 
profoundest  convictions  in  two  papers  of  remarkable 
clarity  and  cogency.  These  he  read  before  the  World's 
Parliament  of  Religions  at  Chicago.  One  was  on 
"Jewish  Theology,"  the  other  on  "Jewish  Ethics." 
His  very  earliest  literary  effort,  "History  of  the  Israel- 
itish  Nation"  (Albany,  1854),  had  stirred  up  a  violent 
storm  because  he  essayed  to  treat  that  history,  not  as 
being  exclusively  ecclesiastical  in  content,  but  by 
applying  common  sense  and  reason  to  differentiate 
between  the  religious  elements  and  those  which  were 
political,  legal  or  literary. 

He  faced  the  problems  of  the  origins  and  texts  of  the 
Biblical  books  in  his  "Proanos  to  Holy  Writ."  He  was 
one  of  the  first  who  dared  to  apply  the  like  canons  of 
criticism  also  to  the  New  Testament.  From  his  earliest 
days  in  America  he  had  been  exasperated  by  the 
effrontery  and  importunity  of  the  missionary  movement 
led  by  credulous  pietists  and  renegade  converts.  With 
a  temerity  few  have  equalled  he  exposed  their  sham  and 
hypocrisy,  their  ignorance  and  wilful  misconstruction 
of  the  records.  To  this  end  he  spoke  and  published 
"A  Defense  of  Judaism  Against  Proselytizing  Chris- 
tianity," "Judaism  and  Christianity,  Their  Agreements 
and  Disagreements,"  and  "The  Martyrdom  of  Jesus." 
He  was  one  of  the  first  to  demonstrate  that  the  birth  of 
Christianity  can  not  be  understood  without  a  knowledge 
of  the  Judaism  of  the  first  century. 


162  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Dr.  Wise  was  not  a  mere  closet  student,  a  pedant. 
He  was  pre-eminently  a  teacher.  He  literally  verified 
the  injunction  "to  learn  and  to  teach,  to  heed  and  to 
act."  Not  satisfied  with  propounding  his  lessons  from 
the  pulpit  or  in  printed  books,  he  sent  them  broadcast, 
first  in  Leeser's  "Occident,"  of  Philadelphia;  then  in 
Lyon's  "Asmonean,"  of  New  York;  and,  after  his 
settlement  in  Cincinnati,  in  his  two  great  journals, 
The  American  Israelite  and  Die  Deborah. 

He  had  a  passion  for  teaching.  When  he  landed 
in  New  York  his  first  occupation  was  teaching.  In 
Albany,  he  at  once  opened  a  school  into  which  girls  as 
well  as  boys  were  received  as  pupils.  The  call  to 
Cincinnati  interested  him  largely,  because  here  Judah 
Touro  had  endowed  a  school,  The  Talmud  Yelodim 
Institute.  He  kept  his  clear  vision  bent  with  rapt 
intent  from  his  earliest  days  in  America  upon  one 
definite  goal.  He  saw  with  ever  increasing  conviction 
the  supreme  need  of  American  Israel  for  a  school  in 
which  to  train  teachers  and  leaders.  You  know  the 
long,  tireless,  unremitting,  heroic  efforts  he  made, 
until  at  last,  on  October  3,  1875,  the  Hebrew  Union 
College  welcomed  us,  who  were  the  first  of  the  two  hun- 
dred students  who,  in  these  forty-four  years,  have 
passed  through  its  portals  and  won  the  honors  of  ordina- 
tion. Who  that  was  present  will  ever  forget  that 
memorable  July  day  of  1883  when  the  first  graduation 
took  place!  The  venerable  form  of  our  revered  master 
seemed  to  rise  to  majestic  stature  as  he  stood  in  this 
consecrated  place.  Here  thronged  his  hosts  of  friends, 
those  of  his  beloved  congregation  and  of  this  city  at 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  163 

large  who  had  shared  in  all  his  trials  and  struggles  and 
had  now  come  to  glory  in  his  triumphs.  Here  were 
assembled  from  all  parts  of  the  land  the  delegates  to 
the  Council  of  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congre- 
gations to  witness  the  realization  of  his  cherished  dream. 
It  was  one  of  those  rare  moments  of  exaltation  when  our 
beings  are  thrilled  with  the  sense  of  the  sublime.  Into 
the  souls  of  us  who  were  favored  to  receive  the  hallowed 
Semicha  by  the  pressure  of  his  lips  upon  our  brows  there 
entered  a  solemn  consecration  to  the  tasks  for  which  he 
sent  us  forth  and  that  has  made  his  deathless  spirit 
abide  with  us  in  every  impulse  and  motive  of  our  life's 
work.  That  work  was  to  center  in  the  fulfillment  of  the 
third  great  purpose  Dr.  Wise  cherished  and  by  which 
American  Israel  was  to  realize  in  its  religious  life  the 
great  possibilities  of  its  new-found  freedom. 

When  the  new  light  of  the  scientific  era  was  flashed 
into  the  mazes  of  Jewish  history,  it  revealed  the  process 
of  evolution  that  had  marked  the  progress  of  the  cen- 
turies! Then  a  real  constructive  philosophy  of  Reform 
Judaism  was  discovered.  The  content  of  this  philo- 
sophy Dr.  Wise  helped  to  formulate  in  his  "Essence  of 
Judaism."  Its  spirit  constrained  in  him  the  necessity 
of  creating  the  new  ritual  he  called  "Minhag  America," 
the  pioneer  of  all  kindred  efforts  that  ultimately  were 
harmonized  in  our  "Union  Prayer  Book."  Whilehisgreat 
antagonist,  Isaac  Leeser,  was  weighing  the  relative  merits 
of  the  Sephardic  against  the  Ashkenazic  and  the  Polish 
Minhagim  for  use  in  this  country;  while  Dr.  Einhorn, 
Dr.  Samuel  Hirsch,  Dr.  Szold  and  Dr.  Jastrow  contended 
for  the  retention  of  German  in  the  services,  Wise  vigor- 


164  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

ously  opposed  them  all.  He  alone  had  fully  emancipated 
himself  from  alien  control.  He  alone  clearly  saw  that 
life  was  creating  here  a  new  and  distinctive  American 
Israel.  He  became  the  avowed  protagonist  of  an 
American  Judaism.  He  would  have  the  universal  and 
eternal  content  of  Judaism  find  expression  in  a  form  and 
spirit  consistently  and  avowedly  American. 

In  that  cause  he  fought  the  great  fight  of  his  life. 
Mild,  kindly,  and  lovable  as  he  was  personally,  in  the 
championship  of  his  cause  he  was  aggressive  and  fearless 
as  a  gladiator  in  the  arena.  Yet  he  never  harbored 
personal  resentment  against  an  opponent.  Herein  his 
example  should  shame  the  petty  rabbinical  squabbles 
of  our  day.  I  recall  one  who  had  received  many 
kindnesses  from  Dr.  Wise  but  who  had  meanly  and 
cynically  attacked  him  in  the  press.  The  man  came 
hither  from  another  city  and  appeared  unexpectedly  at 
the  College.  We  were  all  greatly  agitated  at  this 
effrontery.  Dr.  Wise  treated  his  antagonist  with 
scrupulous  courtesy.  When  later  we  students  expressed 
our  surprise  he  said,  "Under  this  roof  I  must  observe  the 
laws  of  hospitality  even  to  a  foe." 

The  intensity  of  his  convictions,  his  imbounded  moral 
courage,  added  to  his  extraordinary  powers  of  initiative 
and  execution,  made  him  the  pioneer  leader  of  our  reform 
movement.  He  enfranchised  the  Jewish  woman,  brought 
her  from  her  place  of  seclusion  in  the  gallery  to  be 
united  with  husband  and  children  in  the  family  pew. 
He  organized  the  first  choir  of  men  and  women  and 
lent  to  the  public  worship  the  emotional  appeal  of  song 
and  the  spiritual  uplift  of  music.     He  brought  order 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  165 

and  devotion  into  the  services  by  insisting  on  decorum 
and  unison  in  worship  and  by  preaching  in  the  English 
language.  He  brought  into  recognition  the  claims  of  the 
child  in  the  synagogue  and  introduced  the  confirmation 
to  which  girls  were  admitted  with  the  boys. 

It  would  be  unfair  to  one  of  his  strongest  motives  to 
infer  that  in  all  these  innovations  he  was  animated  by 
an  over-mastering  individualism.  If  there  is  any  one 
principle  he  emphasized  more  strongly  than  others  from 
first  to  last  it  was  his  insistence  on  the  force  and  value 
of  the  living  tradition.  He  sought  for  the  support  of 
the  consensus  of  Rabbinical  wisdom,  experience,  and 
force  of  character  to  provide  the  weight  of  authority 
and  to  lend  the  impress  of  its  sanction  to  the  new  fife  of 
the  new  synagogue  in  the  new  world.  Alas,  how  vain 
were  these  efforts  to  secure  unity  among  the  Rabbis  of 
his  day.  In  them  the  individualistic  devotion  to  their 
varied  European  heritage  was  ineradicable.  From  the 
first  efforts  of  the  Beth  Din,  to  which  he  was  appointed 
by  Lilienthal,  through  the  early  conferences  at  Phila- 
delphia, Cleveland  and  Cincinnati,  he  contended  for 
unity,  but  in  vain.  His  vision  discerned  that  to  make 
union  possible  he  must  await  the  fulfillment  of  that 
process  by  which  there  was  destined  to  be  created  here 
a  new  generation  and  outlook.  At  last  in  1899,  at 
Detroit,  a  group  of  Rabbis,  in  full  sympathy  with  his 
aims  and  reinforced  by  the  first  twenty  graduates  of  the 
Hebrew  Union  College,  organized  the  Central  Confer- 
ence of  American  Rabbis.  Seated  by  his  side,  as  first 
secretary  of  the  conference,  I  noted  the  gleam  of  pride 
and  satisfaction  with  which  he  proclaimed  the  unani- 


166  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

mous  adoption  of  the  article  which  declared,  "The 
object  of  this  organization  shall  be  to  foster  a  feeling  of 
association  and  brotherhood  among  the  rabbis  and  other 
Jewish  scholars  of  America,  to  advance  the  cause  of 
Jewish  learning,  and  to  encourage  all  efforts  towards 
the  propagation  of  Judaism." 

Ten  years  later,  on  this  very  day,  the  conference 
assembled  here  to  honor  the  80th  birthday  of  its  founder 
and  president.  As  this  conference  was  the  last  great 
creation  of  his  genius,  so  were  the  honors  then  bestowed 
upon  him  the  crowning  tributes  to  his  noble  life.  The 
entire  country  shared  with  us  in  the  lavish  outpouring 
of  generous  gifts  and  eloquent  tokens.  His  eye  was 
undimmed  and  his  natural  force  unabated.  His  voice 
rang  out  clear  as  a  bell  when  at  the  midnight  hour  of  our 
closing  festival  he  spoke  to  us.  Modestly  he  set  aside 
all  the  temptations  of  vain-glory.  Do  you  not  still 
hear,  you  who  were  privileged  to  be  present,  the  pro- 
phetic utterance  that  fell  from  his  lips  when  he  declared 
that  within  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  religion  of  the 
thinking  men  of  the  world  would  coincide  in  spirit  and 
in  conviction  with  the  ethical  monotheism  of  our 
prophets  which  is  the  essence  of  Reform  Judaism! 

Did  we  attribute  his  outburst  of  exuberant  optimism 
to  the  genial  sentiments  quickened  by  the  triumphs  he 
had  lived  to  celebrate?  Let  us  not  hold  so  cheaply  the 
serious  pronouncements  a  man  makes  at  the  summit  of 
eighty  years  of  life's  experiences  standing  face  to  face 
with  eternity.  As  Moses  of  old,  in  his  parting  injunc- 
tions to  his  people,  rose  to  prophetic  heights,  so  did  our 
master  when  he  uttered  those  words  that  proved  to  be 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  167 

his  valedictory  to  the  Conference  he  had  called  into 
being.  We  can  see  now  how  across  the  century  the 
light  that  had  been  kindled  in  his  soul  gleamed  with 
fullest  brilliancy  at  the  last.  Across  the  two  decades 
that  have  since  passed  he  seems  now  to  stretch  a  hand 
through  the  silence  into  this  hour.  We  feel  its  touch 
in  the  moral  impulse  this  commemoration  puts  upon 
our  spirits. 

We  are  witnesses  of  the  tremendous  changes  wrought 
by  the  world  war.  These  changes  have  brought 
American  Israel  to  a  place  of  leadership  in  the  stirring 
drama  of  events  in  which  the  weal  or  woe  of  Israel  is 
being  decided.  The  immediate  opportunity  and  re- 
sponsibility is  at  hand  to  utilize  the  threefold  blessings 
that  are  ours,  so  that  their  benefits  may  come  to  be  shared 
by  our  brethren  in  all  lands.  American  Israel,  called 
under  the  Providence  of  God  to  the  regal  privileges  of 
this  land,  has  already  exceeded  the  boldest  dreams  of 
philanthropy  by  sending  her  millions  in  money  to 
succor  the  broken  and  helpless  Jewries  of  the  old  world. 
These  material  gifts  in  whatever  measure  the  call  of 
need  may  require  will  surely  be  given,  but  they  fade  into 
minor  significance  as  compared  with  the  spiritual 
benefits  we  must  endeavor  to  bestow. 

The  notable  contribution  made  by  American  Jews  to 
our  government  in  the  army  and  navy,  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation,  and  in  all  fields  of  civic  service  at  home  and 
abroad,  have  brought  to  us  rare  prestige.  And  now,  for 
for  the  first  time  in  the  whole  course  of  history,  the 
opportunity  has  arisen  to  lay  the  cause  of  Israel  before 
the  Allied  Powers  of  the  civilized  world  in  conference  at 


168  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

Paris.  Ours  is  the  right  and  duty  to  demand  that  the 
scandal  which  has  disgraced  Christianity  these  two 
thousand  years  shall  cease,  that  the  blood  of  the  inno- 
cents shed  by  inquisitions,  crusades,  and  pogroms  shall 
be  requited  by  the  granting  of  full  and  equal  human 
rights  not  alone  in  Palestine  but  in  every  land. 

Thank  God,  today,  all  American  Israel  speaks  in  unison 
at  the  Peace  Conference  and  blends  its  appeal  with  that 
of  our  liberated  brethren  of  England  and  France.  A 
delegation  of  some  of  our  most  eminent  leaders  has  gone 
abroad,  empowered  by  the  president  of  this  conference 
and  by  the  president  of  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew 
Congregations,  to  combine  with  the  representatives  of 
all  the  other  organizations  of  American  Jews  in  the 
demand  that  guarantees  for  full  emancipation  of  our 
people  everywhere  shall  be  included  in  the  solemn 
covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations.  Thus  is  the  vision 
of  union  in  Israel  cherished  by  our  great  leader  coming 
true. 

"The  old  order  changeth,  yielding  place  to 
the  new 
And  God  fulfills  Himself  in  many  ways." 

Into  this  new  order  that  must  eventually  rise  from 
desolated  Jewries  of  the  old  world  it  must  be  the  duty 
of  American  Israel  to  infuse  the  spirit  of  that  second 
blessing  we  have  come  to  enjoy,  the  spirit  of  a  free  and 
unhampered  intellectual  life.  Reared  in  this  atmos- 
phere our  souls  revolt  against  the  refinements  of  cruelty 
practiced  on  the  sensitive  souls  of  our  brethren  abroad 
by  the  limitation  of  their  privileges  of  education.  But 
a  small  percentage  of  Jews  have  been  permitted  to 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  169 

attend  the  schools,  colleges  and  universities  in  eastern 
Europe,  and,  as  a  rule,  only  subordinate  positions  were 
accessible  to  them  in  the  halls  of  learning  and  the  pro- 
fessions, even  in  the  lands  of  western  Europe.  Against 
this  iniquitous  system  we  must  bring  to  bear  every 
pressure. 

Moreover,  the  general  collapse  of  the  European 
centers  of  Jewish  learning  has  shifted  to  American 
Israel  the  supreme  responsibility  for  keeping  alive  the 
fires  of  learning  here.  The  Hebrew  Union  College 
which  pioneered  the  way  for  all  kindred  organizations 
and  movements  in  this  land  must  still  lead  in  the  great 
work  of  reconstruction  the  future  will  demand.  We 
must  see  to  it  that  the  sunlight  and  pure  air  of  the  era 
of  enlightenment  shall  penetrate  the  musty  systems  of 
the  old  world  Yeshiboth.  Multitudes  here  and  abroad 
are  still  subjected  to  the  routine  of  a  dreary  formalism 
which,  while  it  sharpens  the  intellect,  too  often  leaves 
the  heart  dull.  The  new  education  we  cherish  is  vital 
not  alone  to  what  stimulates  the  best  endeavors  of  the 
mind  but  also  to  that  which  definitely  aims  to  strengthen 
the  moral  and  spiritual  forces  for  the  actual  struggle  of 
life.  When  the  emancipation  of  the  mind  from  the 
shackles  of  medieval  thought  shall  have  been  secured, 
we  shall  not  fail  to  see  everywhere  the  onward  sweep  of 
that  third  tide  of  influence  which  shall  proclaim  the 
religious  reformation  Dr.  Wise  predicted  for  all  thinking 
men  and  women. 

The  old  autocracy  which  kept  the  synagogue  bound  to 
the  rigid  formularies  of  a  final  code  is  destined  to  fall 
because  there  is  no  final  code.    We  know  that  to  the 


170  THE  RABBI'S  CAREER 

unfoldment  of  the  religious  life  each  era  has  made  its 
own  contribution.  The  unfettered  mind  apprehends 
the  true  values  of  these  tributaries  and  keeps  the  stream 
of  progress  unclogged.  The  war  has  in  fact  hastened 
the  fulfillment  of  Dr.  Wise's  prophecy.  The  co-opera- 
tion of  all  sects  and  creeds  in  conserving  the  religious 
and  moral  welfare  of  our  armies  and  navies  has  shown 
that  the  democracy  of  religion  is  now  a  living  issue  in 
the  world.  America's  great  experiment  in  the  separa- 
tion of  church  and  state  has  proven  that  spontaneous 
religious  life  freed  from  political  domination,  is  the  most 
ardent  and  sincere.  It  has  also  shown  how  we  can  rid 
mankind  of  the  curse  of  religious  wars  and  bigotries. 
We  spent  ourselves  freely  and  unreservedly  in  this  great 
war,  with  the  blood  of  our  men  and  the  agony  of  our 
women,  to  help  teach  the  old  world  the  supreme  dictum 
of  our  ancient  prophets  that  nations  no  less  than 
individuals  must  bow  to  the  divine  supremacy  of  the 
moral  law.  Twenty-two  nations  are  allied  today  in  one 
cause,  laboring  to  adjust  the  future  relations  of  mankind 
by  the  solemn  covenant  of  a  league,  such  as  Micah  and 
Isaiah  foreshadowed,  wherein  by  the  eternal  standards 
of  right 

"God  shall  judge  between  many  peoples 

And  shall  decide  concerning  mighty  nations  afar  off; 

And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares 

And  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks; 

Nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation 

Neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more." 
At  a  time  when  these  exalted  ideals  of  our  faith  are 
brought  down  from  the  cloudlands  of  vision  and  are 


THE  PIONEER  AMERICAN  RABBI  171 

become  the  practical  issues  of  statesmen  and  legislators 
we  are  amazed  to  hear  the  voice  of  reactionaries  ridicule 
"the  mission  of  Israel."  At  a  time  when  the  Jew, 
through  the  sublime  principles  for  which  he  suffered  and 
endured  throughout  the  ages,  is  serving  as  the  concilia- 
tor and  redeemer  of  mankind,  we  are  blatantly  informed 
by  Socialist-Nationalist  groups  that  religion  is  negligible 
and  subordinate  to  race,  nationality,  and  culture.  Are 
these  then  the  true  prophets  and  was  Dr.  Wise  a  false 
prophet?  Was  it  all  a  vain  struggle — the  agony  of  his 
years  to  loose  the  bonds  and  set  us  free  to  witness  to  the 
world  in  behalf  of  the  lofty  universalism  of  Israel's  faith? 

To  come  hither  into  the  place  his  presence  hallowed 
for  well  nigh  half  a  century,  of  what  avail  unless  we 
receive  in  renewed  reverence  the  inspirations  of  our 
religion  he  sought  in  life  to  impart  to  us?  To  recite  the 
story  of  his  career  is  but  an  idle  pastime  unless  thereby 
we  renew  our  fealty  to  all  that  he  enshrined  in  the  Union, 
the  College  and  the  Conference  his  genius  created. 

By  what  he  wrought  in  the  making  of  American  Israel 
and  American  Judaism  he  has  become  immortal.  Let 
us,  who  are  privileged  to  be  called  his  disciples,  prove 
ourselves  worthy  of  the  heritage  he  bequeathed! 
Strengthened  in  this  hour  by  the  deepened  consciousness 
that  his  deathless  spirit  abides  with  us,  we  face  the  task 
of  the  future  inspired  by  new  courage  and  exalted  by 
new  hope. 


INDEX 


A 

Adolescents  and  Religion 55  56 

Authority— Of  Tradition 26  27'  63 

Parental *      '  56'  57 

Rabbinical ..'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' .'.'.'.*.'.' ..13,' 26,'  28 

B 

Bad  Boy rQ 

Bible  as  Text  Book '.'..'. 43  44 

Criticism *.'.'.'.*.'.■.'.'  .'65,'  108,  109 

ocnools 77   82   98 

Teaching  Vitalized .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . . '...'.  60'  61 

C 

Ceremonies. . ...      75j  123)  149  150 

Children,  Divine  Services  for 68 

The  Rabbi  and  the ...  38 

Choir  Junior '.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' .' .' .' .'  .148,  149 

Mixed 164 

See  Singing. 

Confirmation,     33,  42,  56,  70,  74,  165 

Congregation,  Junior 43,  139   140 

Criticism  of  the  Rabbi ....  1  ft   70  Qf) 

Biblical-See  Bible.       '      ' 

Curriculum  of  Jewish  Schools 42,  43 

D 

Decisions,  Rabbinical 13  26  27 

Disciph'ne  in  Religious  Schools . '  57'  58 

Divine  Services  for  Children '68 

Divorce 24 

Dues,  Congregational ...'.'      .'  '  '  "140,  141 

E 

Exegesis g2 


174  INDEX 


F 


Fees,  Ministers 31,  32 

Freedom,  See  Intellectual,  Political,  Jewish,  Jew. 

Free  Speech 130,  131,  136 

Synagogues 118,  131 

Funerals 104,  145 

G 

Gambling,  Preaching  on 132 

Gary  System,  The   70 

Genius,  The  Jewish 107 

Gifts  to  the  Rabbi 33,  74 

God,  How  to  Teach  about 44,  47 


H 

Hebrew,  Study  of 66 

Teaching  of 67,  68 

Use  of. 103 

Hebrew  Union  College,  Founding  of 162 

Future  of 169 

High  School,  Religious 42 

History,  Jewish,  Value  of 63,  64 

Home  and  School 73,  74 

Homiletics   108 

Honesty,  Intellectual 115,  119 

Moral 119 

Humor  in  Sermons 112 

I 

Indifference  to  Religion 71,  72,  78,  79 

Intellectual  Freedom,  Effects  of 159,  160 

Movement  for 153,  158 

Spread  of 168,  169 

Israel,  American,  Opportunities  and  Duties  of 167 

J 

Jew,  Political  Emancipation  of  the 152,  153,  157,  168 

Dr.  I.  M.  Wise,  the  Pioneer  American 158,  163,  164 

Jewish,  The,  Attitude  towards  Life 49 

The,  Consciousness 48,  78 

The,  Spirit 48,  95 

The,  Spirit  and  Christian 49 

The,  Spirit  and  Pagan 49 


INDEX  175 

The,  Spirit  in  Ethics 50 

The,  Spirit  in  Rites  and  Observances 50 

The,  Spirit  in  the  Home,  School  and  Synagogue ....  51,  52 
The,  Spirit  in  Theology 50 

Judaism,  Orthodox 53,  102,  103 

Reform 53,  153,  154 

Junior  Congregation 43,  139,  140 

Rabbi,  See  Rabbis. 


Leadership  of  the  Rabbi 13,  14,  19,  21,  129 

League  of  Nations 168-170 

Lecture,  The 85 

Lilienthal,  Max 156,  165 

Liturgy,  The 99,  100,  102,  115,  117,  118,  145,  146 

See  Cantor. 

See  Choir. 

See  Ritual. 

M 

Marriage  Address 104 

Solemnization  of 23,  26 

Midrash 52,  94 

Military  Service,  The  Minister  in 150 

Minister,  Fees  of 31,  32 

In  Military  Service 150 

Personality  of  the 21,  22,  37,  38 

Ministry,  and  the  People 28,29 

Standards  of  the 15,  142,  143 

Miracles 64 


0 
Orthodox  Judaism 53,  102,  103 


Parents,  Authority  of 56,  57 

Indifference  of 71,  72,  78,  79 

Pastoral  Visits 30,  34 

Pedagogy,  Jewish 45,  52 

People,  and  the  Minister 28,  29,  123 

Types  of 16,  17 

Personality  of  the  Minister 21,  22,  37,  38 

Of  the  Preacher 84,  85,  94 

Of  the  Teacher 44 


176  INDEX 

Political  Emancipation,  See  Jew. 

Prayer  46,  47,  98,  99 

Public 82-84 

Preaching,  by  Laymen 109,  110 

Distinguished  from  Teaching 85,  94 

Excessive 97,  98,  116 

On  Gambling 132 

When  it  becomes  Irksome 110,  111 

Prophets,  Appeal,  Their  Modern 127,  128 

False 128 

Hebrew,  The 113,  114 

Proselytizing 161 

Pulpit,  Function  of  the 108,  109,  111 

Motives  of  the 119,  120 

Vacancies 125-127,  141-143 


R 

Rabbi,  The,  as  a  Political  Worker 134 

As  a  Social  Worker Ill,  127,  128,  129,  131,  136,  137 

As  Communal  Worker 127 

Work  for,  in  Other  Spheres Ill 

Rabbinical  Conferences 27,  117,  165 

Decisions 13,  26,  27 

Rabbi's  The,  Contract 124,  143,  147,  148 

Diploma 12-14 

Fees 31,  32 

Gifts 33,74 

Home  Life 121-123 

Leadership 84,  85,  94 

Relation  to  His  Colleagues 125-127,  146,  147 

Relation  to  His  Congregation 123-125,  143-145 

Relation  to  Other  Denominations 147,  148 

Relation  to  the  Children 38 

See  also  Personalitv. 

Social  Life 34 

Vacation 145 

Rabbis,  Senior  and  Junior 147 

Reform,  Judaism 53,  97,  101-103,  117,  164,  166-169 

Reformation,  Religious 153-164,  169-171 

Religion,  Adolescents  and 55,  56 

Indifference  to 71,  72,  78,  79 

Teaching  of,  See  God. 

Responsa,  Literature  of 27 

Riesser,  Gabriel 154 

Ritual  Questions 26 

See  Liturgy. 


INDEX  177 

S 

Scholarship 23,  116 

Schools,  and  Home 73-74 

Difficulties  of .59,  60 

Equipment  of '  71 

Importance  of 36,  37 

Interest  in  Class  Work '  58 

Religious  and  Secular,  Differentiated .40,  41 

Religious,  Discipline  in 57,  58 

Schools,  Bible 77,  82,  98 

Bible  Criticism  in ' .  .     65 

Communal 75,  76 

Congregational 69 

Curriculum 42,  43 

Day .......  V.  .......   '  70 

Intensive  Study  in 60,  61 

Jewish,  Defined 40-42 

Purpose  of 52 

Social  Service  in 77 

Traditions  of  the 47-51 

Scriptures,  Public  Reading  of 83 

Seder  Service 72 

Sepher  Torah 51 

Sermon,  The,  and  Lecture  Differentiated 85 

Bible  Criticisms  in 108,  109 

Extempore 92,  93 

Historical  Place  of 81,  82 

Humor  in 112 

In  English 165 

Length  of 103-105 

Materials  for 87,  88,  107,  108 

Memorizing 92,  93 

Preparation  of 88-90,  105,  106 

Present  Place  of 82,  83 

Texts 90,'  91 

Texts  from  New  Testament 106,  107 

Topics 86,  132,  133 

Singing,  Congregational 102 

See  Choir. 

Social  Life  of  the  Rabbi 34-36 

Symbols,  Religious 51,  53,  72,  73 

Synagogue,  Sittings  in 138 

The  Child  in 68,  102,  164 

Woman  in 164 

Young  People  in,  See  Junior  Congregation. 


178  INDEX 


T 

Teacher  of  Religion,  Functions  of  the 52 

Paid  and  Volunteer 54,  55 

Personality  of 44 

Training  of 39,  40,  54 

Tradition,  Authority  of 26,  27,  63 


Visits,  See  Pastoral  Visits. 


\Y 


Wise,  Isaac  M.,  American  Patriot 155-157 

Boyhood  of 154 

Forms  U.  A.  H.  C 161-163 

Founds  H.  U.  C 162 

Life's  Work 156,  157 

Ordained 155 

Pioneer  American  Jew 158,  163,  164 

Reformer 164-166 

Reminiscences 156 

The  Teacher 162 

Woman  in  the  Synagogue 164 

Workingman  and  the  Synagogue 138-140 

Worship,  Laymen  as  Leaders  of 102,  103 

Participation  in 101 

Public 82-84,  99 

Y 

Young  People,  See  Synagogue. 

Z 

Zionism 77 


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